A question about XMRV and sex

[omerbasket]

Hi fellows,
I have a question to our fellow scientists (and everyone else who has an answer...): In your opinion, what are the chances that if one is XMRV positive, and XMRV causes diseases - that same one would be able to have sex with his/her partner? It's probably complicated. What happens today with people who have AIDS?

 

[MEKoan]

We don't know. People can guess, but we can't know.

Re AIDS - while sexual transmission is clearly one way to get AIDS, people who engage in some types of sex are more likely to contract it than others. It's easier, for instance, for a woman to get it from a man than the other way 'round. But, men get it from women, too.

Until we know more, I would take all reasonable precautions.

ETA I'm just standing in until a scientist shows up

 

[omerbasket]

Neither do I. As a matter effect, I don't even know if I want to start a relationship right now, because I don't know if I would be able to kiss my girlfriend without infecting her with the virus.
However, that is an extremely important question, so I finally decided to ask it, even though I know we currently have very little information. Even speculations would interest me.

 

[Mithriel]

Having been involved in the ME community for nearly thirty years, I can say that partners becoming ill with ME is very rare. The only couples I know of who both have ME got to know each other AFTER they got ill.

Parent and child with ME, however, is fairly common.

It may be that you have to have something else to become ill with ME and not stay a healthy control. Maybe all our partners are silently infected.

I have been married for almost thirty eight years and ill all that time. My husband doesn't have ME.

Mithriel

 

[Gerwyn]

Neither do I. As a matter effect, I don't even know if I want to start a relationship right now, because I don't know if I would be able to kiss my girlfriend without infecting her with the virus.
However, that is an extremely important question, so I finally decided to ask it, even though I know we currently have very little information. Even speculations would interest me.

xmrv is found in very high titres in semen and has been found in saliva . Horizontal transmission occurs in other Mulvs so it would be reasonable to assume that this was also the case with XMRV

 

[BEG]

Having been involved in the ME community for nearly thirty years, I can say that partners becoming ill with ME is very rare. The only couples I know of who both have ME got to know each other AFTER they got ill.Parent and child with ME, however, is fairly common.It may be that you have to have something else to become ill with ME and not stay a healthy control. Maybe all our partners are silently infected.
I have been married for almost thirty eight years and ill all that time. My husband doesn't have ME.Mithriel

Mithriel, ditto for me. From my observation, spouses just don't seem to get this illness. However, my daughter has it. I feel it's more a genetic predisposition passed along from parent to child. The right circumstances come together and there it is -- the daughter, son has CFS. I'm very worried about my granddaughter, and not because I gave her slobbery kisses when she was a baby, but because she probably inherited the bad genes. XMRV has lost its luster for me. I just haven't witnessed any transmission first-hand. Ask yourself, how did you get it? Do you remember being intimate with someone ill with CFS? It just doesn't hold water for me.

 

[omerbasket]

But there is another question here, besides "have spouses became ill with ME/CFS". I think the question should be: "Did spouses became ill with ilnesses such as: ME/CFS, fibromylagia, prostate cancer, autism (is it possible in that age?), some kind of an a typical Multiple Sclerosis, Gulf war syndrome or some other diseases, in a precantage which is significantly higher than in the normal population?". Thats, because XMRV is suspected to be related to other diseases as well.

 

[firefly]

A great question. I've been meaning to ask Dr. Judy as soon as I hear back from my last email.
Has anyone else had a chance to ask for her take on this?

 

[firefly]

That is, about kissing and saliva in particular. I'm just assuming sexual transmission is possible, though if proven wrong, that woud be great. Kissing, on the other hand, is far more problematic, especially for us single people.

 

[Dr. Yes]

Dr. Mikovits briefly touched on these subjects in her 'interview' with Cheney; there is a transcript (thanks to some amazing fellow forum members) here:

http://forums.aboutmecfs.org/content.php?61-Transcription-Part-1-28up-to-11-25-29

There isn't too much that is helpful there; she does recommend using universal precautions for HIV+ persons; basically, she says, too little is known for more specific recommendations... She isn't too clear here on the issue of salivary transmission, though she doesn't seem to think that kissing is something to avoid:

"You know HIV/Aids you can certainly kiss, hug infected people and their not spreading virus that way. So there is no reason to suspect that you cant have normal contact with infected individuals."

(from February 20, 2010)

Make what you will of it. Frustratingly little is known yet, unfortunately.


​

 

[firefly]

Thanks, Dr. Yes. That sounds about as specific as we're going to get, at least for now.

 

[acer2000]

Its possible that the reason children develop illness if their parents are sick isn't because of genetics, but because the virus is passed on to children directly just as some kids get HIV from HIV infected mothers, etc... I guess time and studies will tell... I wish they had better advice at this point. :-(

 

[Mithriel]

Omerbasket said

But there is another question here, besides "have spouses became ill with ME/CFS". I think the question should be: "Did spouses became ill with ilnesses such as: ME/CFS, fibromylagia, prostate cancer, autism (is it possible in that age?), some kind of an a typical Multiple Sclerosis, Gulf war syndrome or some other diseases, in a precantage which is significantly higher than in the normal population?". Thats, because XMRV is suspected to be related to other diseases as well.

A good question. My husband is quite well. He had a thyroid storm after flu which has affected him but the thyroid problems are exactly the same as his father's.

Prostate cancer is a worry though.

Mithriel

 

[fred]

The Science paper suggests that ~4% of the population are XMRV positive but asymptomatic. This would support a theory that partners could be sexually infected but not become ill.

Also, I have read anectdotal evidence on other forums that partners of pwME have developed similar symptoms.

 

[beike]

My wife has had fibromyalgia and CFS for about four years now. She developed her symptoms about a year and a half after we met. It has been a while and I had been doing well with my personal health until about a year ago. I was in California on vacation and developed severe cold and flu symptoms. Since then, I have had trouble fighting of a systemic yeast infection and have been losing a lot of hair. I get sick more frequently too and I have developed a sensitivity to cold temperatures. I haven't developed any pain or exhuastion though. It has made me wonder if I have been infected by xmrv from my wife. Possibly the sickness I had in California made my body weak enough that the xmrv infection was able to replicate and spread. I'm thinking of getting tested soon, so we will see. I think taking the same precautions as one would with HIV would probably be wise to prevent transmission.

 

[acer2000]

I know FLV (Feline Leukemia Virus) isn't the same as MLV or XMRV, but it is in the same family. Wikipedia offers a pretty clear explanation of how FLV is spread as well as the progression of infection and statistics about how many cats end up going on to become sick vs. fight it off vs. become asymptomatic carriers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feline_leukemia_virus

Kind of interesting...

 

[cfs since 1998]

if XMRV is similar to MLV and MLV is passed by mice biting eachother, then XMRV must be trasmitted by saliva in humans, right?

Biting...I don't know, that would probably be saliva to blood or blood to saliva transmission would it not? So that doesn't necessarily say anything about saliva to saliva. There is too much we just don't know yet

 

[SunnyGal]

beike's story sounds right to me. Partners may get XMRV from an infected spouse, but they remain asymptomatic until there is a trigger that activates XMRV (hormones, cortisol, inflammation). I basically didn't become very sick with CFS until I had multiple, prolonged and repeated XMRV triggers (multiple pregnancies and very prolonged, severe stress). But, practically all of my life I've had mild CFS symptoms crop up every time I've been stressed or gotten a bad virus, which would indicate that I've had XMRV nearly my entire life.

My guess is that's what those 3.7% of infected "healthy" people are, people who just haven't had XMRV activated enough to become symptomatic. Kind of like walking time bombs. :worried:

As to whether XMRV can be passed via saliva, no idea. I've wondered, though, if HIV really *can't* be passed via saliva? Mightn't there be some cases, perhaps rare, where it has happened?

Sunny

 

[FernRhizome]

An interesting article on HIV, transmission and the quesitons of responsibility....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/health/20essa.html?nl=health&emc=healthupdateema9