The K5 and K17 Vampire Virus theories have been largely discredited. Both are now beleived to have originated in film scripts. K17 is associated with the movie Reign in Darkness and K5 with the series Ultraviolet.

The possibility of a link between vampirism and a retrovirus is still up for debate but mainstream science, predictably, says little that is encouraging.

Verbatum from AltVampyres :
Following is a letter I received from Jon Martin, Ph.D., Associate Professor for Virology at Mercer University School of Medicine. Dr. Martin explains the current status of human retroviruses:

"...Personally, I think the retrovirus as an explanation is a clever notion ... but nothing more than that. There are only three retroviruses known to infect the human. One of them is HIV, which causes AIDS. A second one causes an uncommon leukemia (human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus; HTLV), and the third is not yet clearly associated with human disease (but is related to HTLV)."

OTHER LESS WIDELY KNOWN PROPOSALS :

THE VAMPIRE HORMONE THEORY A genetic complex that is usually dormant becomes activated by a hormone brought in from an external source, i.e., a bite. The genetic complex produces more of the hormone, thereby creating a chain reaction in the victim's body. The hormone also transforms the victim's physical form. The new form will be superficially human but with a pair of fangs with poison sacs which can inject the hormone into another victim, should the vampire so choose.

THE VAMPIRE POLYMER THEORY: Vampires are the victims of a DNA-like polymer that was created by the decomposition of a dead body many thousands of years ago. The polymer is transmitted to others via a bite to a vein or artery and may have the ability to evolve, like other life on Earth.

THE REPRODUCTION THEORY: Similar to the Vampire Polymer Theory, but the material passed to the victim is actual DNA, created by a completely different species which uses humans as hosts for a method of asexual reproduction. The human host eventually changes into a member of the vampire species.

THE VAMPIRE ALLERGEN THEORY: The vampire injects an allergen of some sort. The allergic reaction in the victim transforms him into another vampire.

THE HUMAN PREDATOR THEORY: Humans are destructive to Nature and so Nature, striving for balance, created a humanoid mutation in order to "cull the herd". Seems fitting that it would be a vampire, since vampires would be able to walk with humans without creating too much notice.

THE VAMPIRE HOMINID THEORY: Vampires are an ancient offshoot from human evolution. They evolved in a barren region, i.e., desert or tundra, so they have high tolerance for the elements but no way to make hunting tools. Consequently, they learned to steal from humans. The vampire's thirst for blood lies in their need to take as much water as possible from the arid environment in which they evolved.

THE ALIEN VAMPIRE THEORY: In 1894, in "The Flowering of the Strange Orchid", H.G. Wells explored the possibility of space aliens taking over a human body in order to live off the life energy of others. Since then, vampires have become a favorite alien in SciFi. Many theories have issued since, ranging from the purely fantastic to plausable, but all were inspired by the host of SciFi books and movies that portray vampires as space aliens.

THE VAMPIRE NANOBOT THEORY: Nanobots, created by either a) renegade scientists or b) a race of reptilian saurians, were introduced into a handful of human bodies in order to repair cell damage. The Nanobots performed so well that they rendered their hosts immortal. However, the Nanobots themselves are not immortal and must self-replicate by utilizing the iron atoms from the hemoglobin in the host's red blood cells. The result of this nanoreplication process is the constant need for blood. Unable to keep up with the demand, the host has no choice but to seek blood from another. If the colony of Nanobots exceeds the host's ability to feed, some Nanobots may migrate into another host, usually the next victim of the primary host's bite.

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