Laurel,

Were you aware that the fibers ARE being examined in a lab? Did you happen to contact the facility who is researching this disease? Have you read anything about the testing that HAS been done on these bizarre fibers? Weren't you interested in interviewing physicians who HAVE examined these patients using a dermatascope? What DID you intend to accomplish by writing this article? This is a group of desperate people who are suffering horribly. Many patients HAVE developed psychiatric issues secondary to this illness. Is that any reason to dismiss this blatent physical evidence? I urge you to further educate yourself and Dr. Matthews and THEN write an article that gives these poor suffering patients the respect and dignity they deserve.

"Kathleen" was smart in avoiding being filmed by someone who was out to exploit this illness and label patients without giving them a thorough exam. It is unfortunate that she became so desperate that she gave in. Read up on this and do another story. Make sure to speak to those involved in reasearch and treatment. You owe at least that to "Kathleen".

Sincerely,

Cindy Casey, RN
ccaseyrn@hughes.net California Pacific Medical Center
Medical Specialty Intensive Care Unit
San Francisco, Ca
ph.415-720-8752
fax 903-639-2461
Nursing Coordinator
www.TheNMO.org

If you're going to do a story on Morgellons contact Oklahoma State University's Dr. Randy Wymore or Stony Brook's Dr. Vitaly Citovsky. Please help bring the truth to light.

Morgellons is VERY real. Many of us live with it and have learned how to cope with it and treat it relatively sucessfully, although we haven't found the exact cause or cure. There is still a lot that we DO KNOW about this problem and understand, from all of our shared wisdom.
Good luck to all of you who are traveling on this difficult healing journey! God be with you. -Dr. Drottar

Hi I have a daughter with this same thing going on and she has a 2 yr old daughter with the same things happening to her. Where does she start to get help.She lives in Las Vegas and has been to Dr. and they don't see anything but don't take the time to really look at her. They act like they don't know what she is talking about. She has even taken copys of the facts about morgellenos that the CDC in Las Vegas gave her about the diease. We did'nt know any thing before they told us about the diease. She had told them what her symptoms were and theyare the ones who told her that it sounds like Morgellenos. I live here in Gresham and she is in Las Vegas and I relly fell like I don't know what to do for her and the baby. Please help us.

DONT LET THIS STORY DIE WITHOUT DOING SOMETHING....

I just wanted to tell you that I have Morgellons and like many others who suffer with the disease, I live in a nightmare. I had symptoms for many years before I ever knew what to call it. So i did not read on the internet and then develop symptoms. Finally, i have a doctor who confirms that that is Morgellons. The fibers are so abundant that i can wipe my face and find blue and red fibers on the cloth. the worst part is that this disease affects the brain and the muscles. about 70 percent of people with this illness have lyme disease, me included. I think what is really strange is the afflicted children exhibit autism and behavorial problems.
I am disabled now. Before this happened I worked for the state in a great job. I have had to work with the burn unit at the hospital because my skin bacame so damaged. I only wish this disease was a psychiatric condition.

Thank you.

There are several things I'd like to point out regarding this exceptional article. First, the numbers of victims given were provided by only one of many Morgellons Sufferer's groups. I believe these numbers may represent families and not individuals. As a Morgellons sufferer and patient supporter I have recently done an informal count of registrants who have registered at various sites, and not double registered and the true number is closer to 60,000. And growing.....quickly.

I am apalled that Mr. Rutz of the CDC is giving the same answers that he has been giving with little or slight adjustment, for the last several years. To say this is not infectious is extremely irresponsible of him. I have family members who knew nothing of each others' disease process, who kept it hidden yet it spread to 8 if not more members of my family. It is not something people want to advertise or speak about, so to say this is the tip of the iceberg is a major understatement. It is epidemic if not pandemic. The CDC knows this but has been providing the same answers in various forms now for years. The only improvements have been that Mr. Rutz is not now using terms such as "debunking", if they tested the patient pool directly, patients would "pollute" their data and in denying he ever made the statement later used the word "contaminate". I asked him if those didn't fall under the same definition. Flustered, he did apologize, but does not apologize for the stance of the CDC being unchanging month after month, year after year, while patients are dying, children are suffering, lives are being ruined in every way possible.
For the most part it is Dermatologists who are spouting that this is DOP. They are neither qualified, nor do they typically take specimens or samples for the most part, that allow them to make a judgment of this type, much less prescribe very strong psychotropic drugs, the sort that are given to people suffering from psychosis and schizophrenia. A mental straitjacket, so to speak. There is no evidence this helps or cures true Morgellons patients, indeed it worsens their condition as they cannot care for their homes and bodies, using the hygiene protocols required to stay as well as one possibly can.
For once, I would like to hear that the CDC is coming to the patients. To the disease as in other outbreaks of emerging diseases such as SARS, Legionnaires, the cruise ship illnesses, etc. Indeed, this more closely paralells the early treatment of AIDS patients. I believe the longer they wait and regurgitate the almost exact word for word answer to every reporter, the more they look culpable in allowing the spread of the disease while they may indeed be doing work that is closer to being called CYA.
My own physician is showing signs of Morgellons and while recently hospitalized I was, per the national operations manager of the hospital system, placed in isolation.
And what of those that do not have computer access or are not well enough to search for answers? They languish alone.
We, the people, are asking that congress create and appoint an oversight committee to see that the CDC is in fact doing the job it is funded to do. I would venture to say, if this is a disease of delusion then even this sudden upsurge of 'delusions' among the American populace might be a curiosity to them in and of itself.
Their canned answer that the internet has spread the disease is absurd. Why would tens of thousands of primarily middle aged, middle class Americans suddenly in the midst of the prime of their lives decide to commit socio-economic suicide? This disease has taken everything from the lives of most of it's victims and it certainly is NOT something that this many everyday, normal citizens would simply 'decide' to do. Or even subconsciously do.
I personally visited a psychiatrist FIRST to make sure I wasn't 'losing my marbles'. The doctor answered that ANY physician ought to be able to see that this is clearly physiological, refused my payment and said psychiatric help was the last thing I needed. I did not find this disease on the internet. The disease found my family and after years of searching for answers, I found 'it' on the internet. Why this isn't possibly a cluster of people with many different diseases? The fibers. They are the one constant that even the CDC cannot deny.

I have had Morgellons for a number of years, not knowing what it was until I heard about it on a medical special on T.V. last October. This condition is very painful, very debilitating, and very embarrassing. I've had a lesion on my neck for three years that just will not go away. I've given up on internists and dermatologists and have decided to wait to see any other health care professional until the condition is aknowledged by the medical community for what it is--a physical illness. I went to a doctor who is attempting various protocols on Morgellons victims, but none have really worked for most. He charges an outrageous fee to those of us who are suffering and whose funds are already being depleted by attempts at treating the condition. It's deplorable. I believe it is only a matter of time (soon) until the medical community as a whole and the CDC are forced to acknowledge it as a real epidemic. Research is being done, but is slow due to limited funds.

I suffered from what you call Morgellons. I lived in Portland in the late 80s or early 90s. The Morgellons did not appear until my family and I moved into a rental house that had been a meth lab prior to us living there. The chemicals had been dumped in the septic system and that house was alive with fibers, red and green mostly. We called in the Portland Water Department, they came and tested out water. Now mind you this was before they started boarding up homes because of meth chemicals. The Water department found an unknown bacteria in our water. They said there was nothing to worry about but the next morning, there was a Portland water truck on every corner in the neighborhood, testing water from neighbors. We also called in an entemologist from Portland State University. This professor backed out of our house almost tripping on one of my kids, saying he did not know what was in that house, but he wanted out of there. No one ever followed through with finding out what was causing the problems. My kids and I and our dog broke out in sores. If we left the house and stayed in a motel for a few days, things would clear up. We moved out of the house and won't even drive down that street anymore. Could this problem be caused by the normal floral bacteria being invaded by the chemical residue left from meth cooking?

In addition to Dr. Wymore's research
at OSU-CHS, you will see below that Dr. Raphael Stricker, a
Hematologist/Immunologist at California Pacific Medical Center, San
Francisco, Ca, along with Vitaly Citovsky, Ph.D at State University of New
York have some very interesting findings of Agrobacterium. Incidentally, my
own tissue was the first to test positive for Agrobacterium genetic material
and to date 6 out of 6 Morgellons patients who have been tested are positive
while all the controls have tested negative. PCR is extremely reliable
testing as it detects DNA. When this research is finalized and confirmed it
will be the first known incidence of a plant-infecting bacterium infecting
human hosts. As a medical professional, I find this to be very interesting
and exciting research. As a patient, it leaves me wondering about what the
future holds, and how disfigured I may become. Agrobacterium is what causes
some plants and trees to form the huge knots and disfigurations. It often
affects rose bushes. Patients with Morgellons all describe having been
exposed to the soil and/or exposure to potentially contaminated waters such
as flood water. A large percentage have been avid gardeners or have been in
the landscaping business. Being the first human case detected is a bit
frightening as you can imagine.
Please read the information below. If you would like to interview Dr.
Raphael Stricker please let me know. Ms Savely, NP works with Dr. Stricker
and is seeing over 200 Morgellons patients. I also am in contact with Dr.
Vitaly Citovsky if you would be interested in speaking to him.

I have been very vocal at CPMC about this disease. As you may have read in
my diary, I went to every dept in the hospital begging for research into
this. Dr. Stricker was the only one who came to my rescue and he has
continued to pursue investigation into this devastating illness.

Informattion from scientists investigating the cause of Morgellons disease

Randy S. Wymore, Ph.D.

I entered Morgellons research as a skeptic and have come to understand it as
a multi-system disease of unknown cause. Morgellons is off-handedly
discounted by many public-health officials and physicians who ignore
physical and neurological symptoms - and, instead, label sufferers as
delusional without looking at their skin.

If medical professionals would employ a simple diagnostic tool, such as a
dermatoscope, they would see microscopic fibers under unbroken, non-scarred
skin as my Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences colleagues
and I have seen. OSU-CHS researchers have evaluated fibers and material
collected by clinical faculty, healthcare providers and patients.

Tulsa Police Department CSI forensics investigators have eliminated the
possibility that Morgellons fibers are common environmental contaminants,
hair, fur or any known naturally occurring or synthetic textiles. These
fibers have never been observed in the non-Morgellons, negative control
population.

I understand skepticism. I don't understand the rush to judge sufferers as
delusional. To the skeptics, just look at the skin.

Randy S. Wymore, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Oklahoma State University
Center for Health Sciences

Vitaly Citovsky, Ph.D.

CONTRIBUTION OF AGROBACTERIUM TO MORGELLONS DISEASE. RB Stricker*�, VR
Savely�, A Zaltsman**, V Citovsky**. *California Pacific Medical Center, San
Francisco, CA; �International Lyme & Associated Diseases Society, Bethesda,
MD; **State University of New York, Stony Brook, NY.
Background: Morgellons disease is characterized by dysesthesias and
dermatologic lesions that range from minor to disfiguring (Savely VR, Leitao
MM, Stricker RB. Am J Clin Dermatol 2006;7:1-5). The disease has been
reported primarily in Florida, Texas and California. Although an infectious
etiology of Morgellons disease has been postulated, treatment of the disease
remains problematic, with many patients having inadequate responses to
antimicrobial therapy. Skin biopsies of Morgellons patients reveal
non-specific pathology or an inflammatory process with no observable
pathogens, often with fibrous material projecting from inflamed epidermal
tissue. Morgellons skin fibers appear to contain cellulose. This observation
indicates possible involvement of pathogenic Agrobacterium, which is known
to produce cellulose fibers at infection sites within host tissues. Methods:
Skin biopsy samples from two Morgellons patients were subjected to
high-stringency PCR testing for genes encoded by the Agrobacterium
chromosome. Screening of the same samples for Agrobacterium virulence (vir)
genes and T-DNA sequences in the patient's genome was also performed.
Results: PCR screening indicated the presence of Agrobacterium genes derived
both from the chromosome and from the Ti plasmid, including the T-DNA, in
tissues from both Morgellons patients. Conclusions: Our preliminary results
indicate that Agrobacterium may be involved in the etiology and/or
progression of Morgellons disease. If these results are confirmed, it would
be the first example of a plant-infecting bacterium playing a role in human
disease. Further testing is ongoing to validate this observation and to
determine whether Agrobacterium not only resides in the infected areas, but
also transforms them genetically.

January 14, 2007
Research update from Vitaly Citovsky, Ph.D.
Our continuing screen of additional Morgellons patients has identified
Agrobacterium genetic material in three additional individuals. Thus, all
Morgellons patients screened to date have tested positive for the presence
of Agrobacterium, whereas this microorganism has not been detected in any of
the samples derived from the control, healthy individuals.

Morgellons is a such a horrible disease. My heart & prayers go out to anyone suffering & their families.

I was under the impression that most cases of Morgellons Disease were located in the very Southern States.

What are the stats of the disease. How many cases are in Oregon? Is there hotspots of the disease? Do you recommend to be careful that we stay far away from plants that look to have Arobacterium?

I became symptomatic in oct.2003 approx.1 & 1/2mo. after my son returned from summer vacation in Arizona.
I was more traumatized by the md's i saw seeking help. Back then, there was little to no info to be found.
Sites would appear just to later be replaced by so called official sites addressing DP.
My leisions are all conected by what I can only describe as roots.
There is no sensation on the site itself as though inesticized or the connecting tissue (roots).
Welcome to the future of death by microbs.

Katie,

Please contact me. I am working on a story about Morgellons in Las Vegas.

Thank you

i have morgellons the symptoms re so real it makes me sick at heart just realizing this horrible parasite is alive on my body and noone believes me even the drs many of them too..even my husband and best friend..i am so afraid of what wil happen ..i have treated myself with chemicals and pesticides.to no avail..it has made me feel suicidal..yet i have a large family and think of them first.i dnot know what to do..and i am feeling desperate because there is no help i had nevaluation by a phyciatrist just to prove to the drs and my husband i am not crazyi scored excellent i was told ..so i am left to self treat ..and alone with this horrid delema..sincerely.elizabeth