MicrobeWorld

How XMRV, the new human retrovirus associated with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome, might be transmitted among humans is unknown. The finding that the virus can be detected in prostate cancer cells, and in prostatic secretions of men with prostate cancer suggests that it could be sexually transmitted. To address this question, the presence of XMRV in seminal plasma of men with HIV-1 was examined. Although the virus was not detected in 93 samples from 54 HIV-1 infected men, the study provides little information on possible transmission mechanisms of XMRV.