Microscope image of XMRV (Xenotropic murine leukemia virus - related virus)WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
Two studies have cast further doubt on a 2009 report that a mouse virus is linked to chronic fatigue syndrome. The studies, both published Tuesday (May 31) in Science, point to lab contamination as the source of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus, or XMRV, in cell samples from chronic fatigue patients.
As a result of these findings, both the scientific community and chronic fatigue patients "will ultimately have to accept the scientific proof that there's just no hint of a connection to that disease," Stephen Goff, a virologist at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York who was not involved in the study, told The Scientist.
Mikovits' 2009 paper reported that 67 percent of CFS patients, but only 10 percent of healthy controls, tested ...
