title: Absence of detectable XMRV and other MLV-related viruses in healthy blood donors in the United States.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preliminary studies in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients and XMRV infected animals demonstrated plasma viremia and infection of blood cells with XMRV, indicating the potential risk for transfusion transmission. XMRV and MLV-related virus gene sequences have also been detected in 4-6% of healthy individuals including blood donors in the U.S. These results imply that millions of persons in the U.S. may be carrying the nucleic acid sequences of XMRV and/or MLV-related viruses, which is a serious public health and blood safety concern.
  
  
  RESULTS
  To gain evidence of XMRV or MLV-related virus infection in the U.S. blood donors, 110 plasma samples and 71 PBMC samples from blood donors at the NIH blood bank were screened for XMRV and MLV-related virus infection. We employed highly sensitive assays, including nested PCR and real-time PCR, as well as co-culture of plasma with highly sensitive indicator DERSE cells. Using these assays, none of the samples were positive for XMRV or MLV-related virus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results are consistent with those from several other studies, and demonstrate the absence of XMRV or MLV-related viruses in the U.S. blood donors that we studied.
authors: Lab of Molecular Virology, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America. tangshixing@hotmail.com
authors: Shixing
authors: S
authors: Tang
authors: Jiangqin
authors: J
authors: Zhao
authors: Mohan Kumar
authors: MK
authors: Haleyur Giri Setty
authors: Krishnakumar
authors: K
authors: Devadas
authors: Durga
authors: D
authors: Gaddam
authors: Ragupathy
authors: R
authors: Viswanath
authors: Owen
authors: O
authors: Wood
authors: Panhe
authors: P
authors: Zhang
authors: Indira K
authors: IK
authors: Hewlett
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001771:Blood Banks; D001782:Blood Donors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002460:Cell Line; D006262:Health; D009052:Leukemia Virus, Murine / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D051379:Mice; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014481:United States; D058008:Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*