Lee, Li Ling, Lin, Lin, Bell, David S et al. · PloS one · 2012 · DOI
Researchers tested blood samples from ME/CFS patients and healthy people to see if they contained a virus called MLV (murine leukemia virus). They used sensitive detection methods to look for viral genetic material, but found that when they did detect it, they couldn't be sure it actually came from the patient's blood rather than from contamination during testing.
This study addresses a crucial controversy in ME/CFS research regarding whether MLV-related viruses are genuinely present in patient blood. Establishing whether such viruses are truly associated with ME/CFS requires reliable detection methods that can distinguish real viral sequences from laboratory contamination—a problem this study highlights.
This study does not prove that MLV is absent from ME/CFS patients' blood, nor does it prove that MLV causes or contributes to ME/CFS. The findings demonstrate methodological challenges in detecting these sequences but do not resolve whether MLV is actually present in patient samples; the detection of sequences cannot be conclusively attributed to patient blood due to contamination concerns.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Lee, Li Ling, Lin, Lin, Bell, David S, Levine, Susan, & Hanson, Maureen R (2012). Sensitivity of PCR assays for murine gammaretroviruses and mouse contamination in human blood samples.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037482
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lee-2012-sensitivity-pcr,
author = {Lee, Li Ling and Lin, Lin and Bell, David S and Levine, Susan and Hanson, Maureen R},
title = {Sensitivity of PCR assays for murine gammaretroviruses and mouse contamination in human blood samples.},
journal = {PloS one},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0037482},
note = {PubMed: 22629404},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lee-2012-sensitivity-pcr},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-25. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lee-2012-sensitivity-pcr
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