I find vaccination contamination a highly plausible theory, but we might have to wait for further studies to substantiate it. (There - hopefully that opening sentence will keep the scientifically minded, logical, intellectual folks happy!).
Now for the gut feeling ....!
Ah ha!!! This was my most likely theory as to how XMRV made the cross over into the human race. Vaccine contamination.
It could be a very good reason to explain why the MRC in the UK have been so slow/reluctant to fund general biomedical research into ME - could it be that they know exactly what the research will show?! Plus they are probably funded by the very industries that make the vaccines.
It could certainly explain last week's orchestrated 'nothing to worry about here folks, move along, contamination' campaign in the UK medical and lay press?
Well it IS contamination of course - but in an entirely different way - so technically they might be telling the truth. And why would any sensible doctor expect vaccines, one of the seven wonders of the medical research world, to be the root of the problem?
Could also explain those unrevealed ME documents at Kew in the UK which have been inexplicably barred from public release for another few decades?
Finally, the anecdotal evidence!
I had 8 vaccinations to go to Africa on a work trip - and subsequently became very ill over the following years, starting with a deep seated fatigue and severe sleep disturbances that wouldn't shift, making work incredibly difficult and culminating in palsies and tremors and being unable to stand up. None of the vaccines were for Hep B, often noted as a favourite precursor to developing ME, but did include Yellow Fever (you can't get in to some African countries without a signed GP note that you have had this vaccination), Meningitis, Tetanus, Polio etc etc.
Anyway, just to keep the intellectuals, 'left brainers' and traditional scientists happy, I'm not saying that this IS the transmission route, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is. Let's see if the usual suspects in the UK try and bury this paper ...
In any case, if we are going to check the nation's blood suppies, it might be commonsense to scrutinise all vaccinations, public medical and lab supplies such as medical fluids (I/V saline, dextrose, heparin etc) - all widely used in medical care the world over.
Probaby better to nail this now than another 2 decades down the line - damage limitation and all that.