This is the theory: Morgellons are a communicable syndrome that afflicts the entire human body in the form of self-assembling, self-replicating, visible colored fibers, wires-like items, tiny black specks and 'antennae'. And doctors say it's imaginary.
The sufferers - found in clusters along USA coastlines -- describe them as 'fiber 'machines' which thrive in the human body and apparently use the host body's bio-electric energy, its minerals and other elements for power and to physically replicate themselves.
Collective intelligence...
It is also reported by many Morgellons victims that the fibers and other Morgellons items exhibit a kind of collective intelligence within the bodies they have parasitized. The fibers are motile and can be easily observed to move and to reach out for nearby objects with a 10x to 30x scope. They are not bacterial or viral and can withstand blowtorch temperatures of 1400 F under laboratory conditions, researchers have already established.
The symptoms of Morgellons vary widely from easily recognized skin lesions which can appear over wide areas on the body - and sometimes over the entire body - which do not scab normally.
Strangely, Morgellons lesions have not been reported to become bacterially-infected. These lesions heal extremely slowly and leave white, pigment-free scars.
The mental and neurological effects of the Morgellons syndrome include brain fog, serious personality changes, fear, depression, suicidal thoughts, and physical coordination issues. Morgellons victims also suffer rapid spikes in body heat levels, severe malaise, and chronic fatigue.
It is established that Morgellons fibers are commonly found in all body fluids and orifices. They have been found in bone joints, and are believed to routinely achieve full body systemic penetration from major organs to the brain.
It is very simple to find Morgellons fibers on the skin of victims and their clothing and often throughout their homes, which many believe become permanently infested and pose a clear and present danger to any uninfected people who come into the homes of Morgellons victims.
The Centres for Disease Control started receiving enquiries from about 2006, and now are investigating more than 3,000 infection sites. They don't know what they are.
Entire families and extended families are now infected. However, the spreading of Morgellons does not occur in all who come into contact with the afflicted. There may be some form of 'immunity' some people possess. Why that is the case remains unknown.
Since the fibers can withstand temperatures in excess of 1400 F, assured sterilization of medical/dental reusable medical equipment and instruments is moot, sufferers say.
Conspiracy theories:
Conspirary-theories abound - and foremost amongst these are that the Centres for Disease Control's 'Morgellons study' -- being carried out by a Kaiser-Permanente group in Northern California from 2008 -- is considered to be 'a coverup and a farce'.
So what is really going on here? The Invasion of the Body Snatchers? All these people who show up with these painful, infectious lesions clearly are not imagining things. Nobody in his right mind would want to even begin to think up these creepy crawlies which seem to be causing this painful and distasteful condition. And everyone in a family seems to get infected with it: from the very young to the very old.
What does the Centres for Disease Control say about Morgellons?
They don't really know what they are, is the best they can come up with at the moment - but they also have confirmed that 'no, it's not really an imaginary disease. It's very very real to the sufferers.'
"We earnestly want to learn more about this unexplained illness, which affects the lives of those who suffer from it,” said Dr. Michele Pearson, principal investigator leading the study for the CDC, in a press release. “Those who suffer have questions, and we want to help them.”
“We have a team of epidemiologists, laboratorians and pathologists to carry out the study,” Pearson said.
"There is not textbook definition on this condition. There are many hypotheses about what might be causing and contributing it. And so it′s been a very frustrating journey, not only for the patients, but also for the providers who provide care to them."
The CDC researchers just haven't found any common denominators yet to link all these victims to this odd condition: some cluster families live in Florida and Texas, others in California, all next or very close to the ocean, as do many millions of other Americans who are perfectly healthy.... No help there then.
The CDC had received some 1,200 official inquiries about Morgellons Disease by 2008, as the sufferers refer to this, nothing that "persons who suffer from this unexplained skin condition report a range of cutaneous (skin) symptoms including crawling, biting and stinging sensations; granules, threads, fibers, or black speck-like materials on or beneath the skin; and/or skin lesions (e.g., rashes or sores).
"In addition to skin manifestations, some sufferers also report fatigue, mental confusion, short term memory loss, joint pain, and changes in vision. The cause of this condition is unknown, and the medical community has insufficient information to determine whether persons who identify themselves as having this condition have a common cause for their symptoms or share common risk factors.
"To assist in learning more about this condition, CDC is conducting an epidemiologic investigation, announced on January 16, 2008.
Dr. Michele Pearson is the principal investigator for the CDC. Also investigating is Dr. Joe Selby, Director of the Kaiser Permanente′s Northern California Division of Research.
The conspiracy theorists have already dismissed this investigation as a 'cover-up'-- but it's not exactly clear why they would want to say this.
It all sounds Pretty Scary.
One fact is certain: people are desperate to get rid of the little horrors. Some people put YouTube videos on line showing that these skin-fibres can be dissolved with lavish dollops of millk. Others say that they have tried chasing them down methodically with oil of eucalyptus, and report that a determined plan of assault for many months does lessen them somewhat.
Whatever it's caused by it seems to be very difficult to get rid of. And it's infectious. We live in very strange times.
Collective intelligence...
It is also reported by many Morgellons victims that the fibers and other Morgellons items exhibit a kind of collective intelligence within the bodies they have parasitized. The fibers are motile and can be easily observed to move and to reach out for nearby objects with a 10x to 30x scope. They are not bacterial or viral and can withstand blowtorch temperatures of 1400 F under laboratory conditions, researchers have already established.
The symptoms of Morgellons vary widely from easily recognized skin lesions which can appear over wide areas on the body - and sometimes over the entire body - which do not scab normally.
Strangely, Morgellons lesions have not been reported to become bacterially-infected. These lesions heal extremely slowly and leave white, pigment-free scars.
The mental and neurological effects of the Morgellons syndrome include brain fog, serious personality changes, fear, depression, suicidal thoughts, and physical coordination issues. Morgellons victims also suffer rapid spikes in body heat levels, severe malaise, and chronic fatigue.
It is established that Morgellons fibers are commonly found in all body fluids and orifices. They have been found in bone joints, and are believed to routinely achieve full body systemic penetration from major organs to the brain.
It is very simple to find Morgellons fibers on the skin of victims and their clothing and often throughout their homes, which many believe become permanently infested and pose a clear and present danger to any uninfected people who come into the homes of Morgellons victims.
The Centres for Disease Control started receiving enquiries from about 2006, and now are investigating more than 3,000 infection sites. They don't know what they are.
Entire families and extended families are now infected. However, the spreading of Morgellons does not occur in all who come into contact with the afflicted. There may be some form of 'immunity' some people possess. Why that is the case remains unknown.
Since the fibers can withstand temperatures in excess of 1400 F, assured sterilization of medical/dental reusable medical equipment and instruments is moot, sufferers say.
Conspiracy theories:
Conspirary-theories abound - and foremost amongst these are that the Centres for Disease Control's 'Morgellons study' -- being carried out by a Kaiser-Permanente group in Northern California from 2008 -- is considered to be 'a coverup and a farce'.
So what is really going on here? The Invasion of the Body Snatchers? All these people who show up with these painful, infectious lesions clearly are not imagining things. Nobody in his right mind would want to even begin to think up these creepy crawlies which seem to be causing this painful and distasteful condition. And everyone in a family seems to get infected with it: from the very young to the very old.
What does the Centres for Disease Control say about Morgellons?
They don't really know what they are, is the best they can come up with at the moment - but they also have confirmed that 'no, it's not really an imaginary disease. It's very very real to the sufferers.'
"We earnestly want to learn more about this unexplained illness, which affects the lives of those who suffer from it,” said Dr. Michele Pearson, principal investigator leading the study for the CDC, in a press release. “Those who suffer have questions, and we want to help them.”
“We have a team of epidemiologists, laboratorians and pathologists to carry out the study,” Pearson said.
"There is not textbook definition on this condition. There are many hypotheses about what might be causing and contributing it. And so it′s been a very frustrating journey, not only for the patients, but also for the providers who provide care to them."
The CDC researchers just haven't found any common denominators yet to link all these victims to this odd condition: some cluster families live in Florida and Texas, others in California, all next or very close to the ocean, as do many millions of other Americans who are perfectly healthy.... No help there then.
The CDC had received some 1,200 official inquiries about Morgellons Disease by 2008, as the sufferers refer to this, nothing that "persons who suffer from this unexplained skin condition report a range of cutaneous (skin) symptoms including crawling, biting and stinging sensations; granules, threads, fibers, or black speck-like materials on or beneath the skin; and/or skin lesions (e.g., rashes or sores).
"In addition to skin manifestations, some sufferers also report fatigue, mental confusion, short term memory loss, joint pain, and changes in vision. The cause of this condition is unknown, and the medical community has insufficient information to determine whether persons who identify themselves as having this condition have a common cause for their symptoms or share common risk factors.
"To assist in learning more about this condition, CDC is conducting an epidemiologic investigation, announced on January 16, 2008.
Dr. Michele Pearson is the principal investigator for the CDC. Also investigating is Dr. Joe Selby, Director of the Kaiser Permanente′s Northern California Division of Research.
The conspiracy theorists have already dismissed this investigation as a 'cover-up'-- but it's not exactly clear why they would want to say this.
It all sounds Pretty Scary.
One fact is certain: people are desperate to get rid of the little horrors. Some people put YouTube videos on line showing that these skin-fibres can be dissolved with lavish dollops of millk. Others say that they have tried chasing them down methodically with oil of eucalyptus, and report that a determined plan of assault for many months does lessen them somewhat.
Whatever it's caused by it seems to be very difficult to get rid of. And it's infectious. We live in very strange times.
