Mystery Disease

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Mystery Disease

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Morgellons Research

 

It's characterized by the sensation of bugs crawling over you and

sores sprouting tiny fibers from them. It could be easy to write- off

as the effects of a paranoid addict, but what about the children and

families coming down with the same symptoms??

 

The Centers for Disease Control is now taking a closer look at this so

far unidentified syndrome and it's showing up here in the valley

 

There's something making Tim's skin crawl.

 

Tim says, " You can feel the movement " He wants to get it off his

chest, his back, his legs, his hands and his ears.

 

Tim says, " The last doctor just said i don't know what to tell you. He

charged me half price! " Tim's from Phoenix. He didn't want to show

his face. The symptoms are so embarrassing: sores that seem to grow,

strange multi- colored fibers coming right thru his skin.

 

Tim says, " I've seen pink, I've seen blue. I've seen white & black. "

All this time, Tim thought he was alone.

 

Anette Riaubia, Morgellons patient, says " They start out like little

pimples or something and you scratch them, and they bust open and they

spring forth these weird fibers like a strand of a piece of cotton. "

Annette Riaubia, lives in LA. She believes she has a skin disease

called Morgellons.

 

Anette says, " The most disturbing symptom is just the crawling feeling

on your skin like you got bugs crawling all over you. " She has to wear

a wig to cover the lesions on her scalp.

 

Anette says, " They don't actually heal. They just end up leaving

strange looking scars. "

 

Dr. Randy Wymore, OSU, says, " This isn't simply a case of mass-

delusional conspiracy " Researchers at Oklahoma State University have

been testing scabs and fibers from Morgellons patients. There are

believed to be about 4,000 known cases - almost 100 here in Arizona.

 

Dr. Wymore says, " We don't know what causes it. We don't know if it's

an environmental factor, if there are bacteria involved, if there are

parasites, or worms or viruses. " Some researchers don't believe in

Morgellons.

 

Dr. Omar Amin, Parasitologist, says, " There is no mystery to it. " Dr.

Amin heads the Parasitology Center in Tempe and treats patients from

all over the world.

 

Dr. Amin says, " If you treat the cause and you alter the effect, then

you know you're on the right track. " His theory, the mysterious skin

parasite called morgellons is really something he calls N-C-S or

" neuro-cutaneous syndrome. " He thinks patients are simply experiencing

rare allergic reactions to everything from breast implants to dental

fillings. He says the fibers are either carried into the wounds by

nesting insects or grown from fungus festering under the skin.

 

Dr. Amin says, " The fiber is a by-product of the fungus. "

 

CBS 5 called the Arizona Department of Health Services. Experts tell

me while there's no official diagnosis, they often see these symptoms

in meth addicts. They say the cause is more likely, psychological

delusions. "

 

Kathy Schell, NCS patient, says, " I think that when people use that

excuse, that's the answer they give because they don't know. " Kathy

Schell says she's never used drugs. She's a surgical aide from

Ahwatukee who's been out of work more than three years. She's afraid

she could be contagious, even though her husband isn't showing any

symptoms

 

Kathy says, " Everytime you look at yourself, you have another wound

that's not healing. " She's being treated by Dr. Amin. Having removed

her implants and taking detoxifying supplements, she's feeling better

 

Kathy says, " I just think if you have this type of problem. that

giving up isn't the answer. " But with wounds that are slow to heal,

depression is another side-effect.

 

" He was having a very bad attack, " says Lisa Wilson, a Texas mother

who says her son Travis struggled with Morgellans, then took his life

last year when the symptoms became too much to bear.

 

Lisa says, " I knew he was going to kill himself and there was nothing

I could do to stop him. "

 

Tim hasn't given up. He'll keep looking for answers.

 

Tim says, " I don't go to doctors anymore unless it's one that believes

in the stuff and knows something about it. "

 

We spoke with the Centers for Disease Control, it had no diagnosis

either. But because so many people are calling with these symptoms,

it's assigning researchers in Infectious and Environmental Disease to

start testing, to try and identify this " syndrome. "

 

To learn more about Morgellons, visit the research website at

http://www.morgellons.org