The epidemiology of onchocerciasis is such that when a case is discovered, there are other associated asymptomatic cases that must be searched for, identified, and treated so that they do not become symptomatic later. This practice was established in 1992 and confirmed in 1994, around the time that the first cases of Gulf War syndrome were coming to light.

Consequently, the diagnosis of onchocerciasis in the first veterans to become symptomatic would have resulted in an obligation to hospitalise all deployed personnel for screening at considerable expense. The logistics are daunting but this could have been achieved over a couple of years, suggesting that this was not the only motive.

Many investigators have commented on similarities between Gulf War syndrome and ME/CFS. It is therefore legitimate to speculate that the shrinking global village is introducing onchocerciasis to temperate latitudes manifesting as ME/CFS. The diagnosis of Gulf War syndrome as onchocerciasis would lead people to speculate that it was also involved in ME/CFS. If a single ME/CFS case was diagnosed with onchocerciasis, as reported in the 1960s, an obligation to investigate entire populations would arise.

Onchocerciasis is routinely discovered to be endemic in regions where it was thought not to present a health threat. For example, in 1999, Maia-Herzog and co-workers [1]identified a new endemic region 2000 km away from the only previously known focus in Brazil. Their study employed cutting edge diagnostic technology that is not commercially available to hospitals; namely, recombinant antigen panel (RAP) ELISA, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) skin probe.

The investigation was prompted by the case of a sixteen years old girl who had never been outside of the region, and who was confirmed with onchocerciasis in 1986. Since the case was autochthonous, skin biopsies from 2000 local individuals were investigated by the traditional parasitological method. This diagnostic procedure, routinely used by UK hospitals, is not sufficiently sensitive to detect lightly infected cases. Consequently, none of the 2000 persons screened were found to be infected.

In 1999, however, Maia-Herzog’s researchers identified very lightly infected cases from three towns in the region by both RAP/ELISA and PCR methods. They considered that the route for the introduction of the parasite into the region was through the immigration of large numbers of garimpeiros (gold miners) from Brazil’s Amazonia focus between 1970 and 1980. This prompted questions regarding the geographical extent and location of unknown endemic regions throughout Brazil; questions that could only be answered by sampling large numbers of people across the whole country.

In parallel, it is inevitable that unidentified endemic regions are yet to be discovered throughout the world’s temperate latitudes, particularly where large numbers of immigrants from onchocerciasis hyperendemic regions have settled. The USA is a case in point.

In the 15th century, the Iberian conquerors of New World had counted on the labour of the Amerindians to colonise the vastness of the Americas. Tragically, the rapid decline in numbers of native Americans meant that they had to look elsewhere for such assistance. By 1518 the transatlantic slave trade was well underway.

African diseases were imported with the slaves, among them malaria, dracunculiasis, filariasis, hookworm disease (caused by the misnamed Necator americanus), yaws (allied to pinta), and even leprosy, which had previously disappeared from Europe. Slaves were taken from the onchocerciasis hyperendemic regions of West Africa so all would have been infected with the disease [2].

The efficiency of different Simulium (blackfly) species to transmit different strains of Onchocerca volvulus and zoonotic Onchocerca species varies. Some blackfly species are vectors for both human and zoonotic species.

Onchocerciasis is not uniquely tropical. Studies have variously indicated that mean ambient temperatures above 14°C to 16°C are required for the morphosis of both human [3] , and zoonotic [4] Onchocerca species in the vector, with complete development being achieved in 7 to 16 days depending on micro-climatic conditions [5].

Blackflies are vectors of Onchocerca lienalis infecting cattle in Georgia, USA [6]. Consequently, there is the potential for the transmission of human onchocerciasis in the state. The 1910 census recorded Georgia’s population comprising 1,431,802 whites and 1,176,987 blacks; a 55%-45% split that had remained constant since the beginning of the civil war in 1861. The black population was the product of bringing onchocerciasis-infected slaves from West Africa since the beginning of the 18th century.

The migration of infected Brazilian gold miners; workers in a single industry, over 10 years would not amount to 45% of the population of the destination region. Nevertheless, it was enough to establish a new self-sustaining onchocerciasis endemic region in Brazil within 6 to 16 years.

The postulate is that a colossal human reservoir of onchocerciasis was imported into Georgia with millions of infected slaves over a period of 150 years. If the Maia-Herzog study is a reliable yardstick, it follows that for more than 2 centuries, it is likely that Georgia has been a self-sustaining endemic region of low transmission rates resulting in low parasite loads in infected cases.

That onchocerciasis crossed the Atlantic with slavery is not in question. Similarly, that onchocerciasis crossed Europe with immigration is not in question. The only question is whether this has given rise to new self-sustaining endemic regions. It is easy enough to find out, but who is to be trusted to do so? Certainly not the American or British governments.

REFERENCES

1.) Maia-Herzog M, Shelley AJ, Bradley JE, et al (1999). Discovery of a new focus of human onchocerciasis in central Brazil. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 93:235—239

2.) Freedman DO, Unnasch TR, Merriweather A, and Awadzi K. (1994). Truly infection-free persons are rare in areas hyperendemic for African onchocerciasis. Journal of Infectious Diseases 170:1054-1055

3.) Takaoka H, Ochoa JO, Juarez EL, and Hansen KM (1982). Effects of temperature on development of Onchocerca volvulus in Simulium ochraceum, and longevity of the simuliid vector. Journal of Parasitology. 68(3):478—483

4.) Takaoka H, Suzuki H, Noda S, et al (1984). Development of Onchocerca volvulus larvae in Simulium pintoi in the Amazonas region of Venezuela. American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene. 33(3:414—419

5.) McCall PJ, and Trees AJ (1993). Onchocerciasis in British cattle: a study of the transmission of Onchocerca species in North Wales. Journal of Helminthology 67(2):123—135

6.) Scholtens RG, Adams SR, and Broderson JR. (1977). Evidence of onchocerciasis in Georgia cattle: prevalence at slaughter. American Journal of Veterinary Res 38(7):1093-1097

What about the fibers? What are they?

It is true that not everyone has absolutely the same symptoms. Morg is a peculiar immune defficiency disorder that allows various organisms, from fungi to bacteria to insects and various parasites, to take residence in the body, resulting in very bizarre symptoms. What these organisms are exactly depends on your environment which depends on local geography and climate.

What is the underlying agent that causes this very strange immunity disorder no one knows for sure. But it is very real and people are not DOP nor are they stupid.

I believe that what scares _you_ is that the medical proffession is not there for you should you get a strange new disease with bizarre symptoms.

But. Coraggio ragazzi! It is real and, as I said before, after you spent so much time and effort on this subject, it is only a matter of time before you get to know the truth firsthand, including the DOP diagnosis from an MD near you.

Since first learning of “morgellons disease”, well over two years ago, I’ve been 100% convinced that the patients in this movement who’ve said they’ve been diagnosed as having DOP, have DOP. Their believing that they don’t, and, especially, not being able to open their minds enough to be receptive towards treating it, or even trying to learn anything about their diagnosis — convinced that all their doctors are wrong, and that what they’re witnessing is some mysterious thing yet to be discovered — just so happens to be what DOP is all about! Everybody, who knows what DOP is, knows that fact.

Basing my opinions on “morgellons disease” patients’ accounts on the internet, I do, though, happen to think that not all of those who have fallen for it, due to not treating DOP, are like that because of an underlying mental disorder, although quite a few appear to be. Assuming that some patients have listed their previously diagnosed physical illnesses factually, some are apparently unable to adequately treat those underlying physical disorders, which are what caused DOP to develop in them. Some may just not be able to express their symptoms well enough to doctors, while some, it seems, are so overtaken by their delusions that it’s all they can dwell on during an appointment. Either way, from what they all say, they seriously need someone to assist them with their health decisions, and probably a whole lot more.

Regardless of the underlying conditions that’ve caused DOP, everyone with that, who has been so easily tricked into thinking that they have something called “morgellons disease” — because everyone associated with it just so happens to believe their delusions, convincing them that “morgellons disease” has caused that type of distorted thinking — is dangerously chasing after something non-existent, hoping that someone, who can’t, will cure them.

Such patients won’t (or can’t, rather, I suppose, especially after being deceived by the MRF and all the others, since), even grasp what the meaning of “delusions” is. Of course, they’re ill, and they often have physical signs, including pain, rashes, sores, and itchy skin, with fibers, and their own immune cells, as well as other benign substances, in their sores. Of course, some have dry skin, with a thickened epidermis, too, and have noticed fibers embedded in it. That’s no mysterious “bio-film”, as many of them think it is.

The strange types of ideas that all such people have about the source of all the things they’ve become way too acutely aware of — about their bodies, in their bodies, on their bodies, and, often, in their surroundings, and in and on other people — is based, directly, in their minds’ mixed-up perceptions about all of it. Because they’ve been encouraged, and led into doing it, they really think that by presenting collections of pictures and videos of the substances that make up the match box sign that they’re affirming, to everyone, that their delusions are visible to others. And, that awful thing that Wymore and others have stated, that if doctors would just look closely enough, they’d see there’s really something there, is so absurd. Of course, there’s something there. What these patients see isn’t the delusion, it’s what they think about what they see — THAT is proof of being delusional, all those far-out ideas and theories, calling it “research”, when it isn’t. I’d think that the entire lot of the “morgellons disease” doctors and researchers are as delusional-as-hell, too, if they weren’t making money off this pitifully helpless group of victims.

I know, that since its inception, other vulnerable people, with their own, unique, personal reasons for succumbing to the hype, decided that they have “morgellons disease”, too. Some are obviously schizophrenia patients who just need to ramble on with their theories, never mentioning personally being ill from “morgellons disease”, or anything else. Many of the patients who “play doctor”, and experiment with mixing pills and substances of all sorts are seriously messed up, keeping themselves that way, appearing to have Munchausens Syndrome. I have witnessed one as having said she’d been diagnosed with it. If Mary Leitao REALLY thought that little Drew was sick with something doctors were missing, and knew that she didn’t have Munchausen Syndrome By Proxy, she’d have freely been evaluated for it, as she was instructed to be, and “morgellons disease” would never have happened.

I’m not saying that such patients weren’t already on the web voicing how badly they need healthcare proxies and advocates, through “Elliot’s disease”, “The Collembola Study” and “Neurocutaneous Syndrome”. Such patients were already around, but Mary Leitao cinched them all up together with her “morgellons disease”, getting the backing she needed to promote herself, and her newfound disease. Since then, as everyone knows, even more patient groups have been spawned out it all.

As far as DOP goes, people really can, and do, recover from having those delusions, but it is a damned convincing one, extremely hard to deal with — for some people, more than others. When the underlying condition that has created that horrible distortion in one’s perception is treated, the delusions go away, but the internet has given quite a few such patients such insurmountable reinforcement.

“Morgellons disease” is a lie, only meant for people who can’t distinguish delusions from reality, and those preying upon such people need brought to justice. Maybe they need mental evaluations more than imprisonment, but they’re way in the wrong with all of this.

It’s good that you kept track of MRF pages – we were too fogged out to notice. Thanks and may you be convinced of the reality of this affliction soon.

Tall Cotton