Morgellons -- The New Plague

Today is May 15, 2008 and Subject A has visited 3 additional doctors in the past week. An infectious disease specialist told her to "get rid of the microscope" and gave her an Aids test, with an admonishment that she should see a psychiatrist. ""There is no schistosomiasis in North America," he told her.

Another doctor examined the photo of the female schistosoma emerging from the male's fold (below) and referred her to another infectious disease specialist.

A third doctor viewed the video (above) of the live schistosoma from Subject A's scalp and said he would refer her to an infectious disease specialist.

Meanwhile, Subject A continues to suffer terribly, with worms emerging daily from the dozens of sores covering her body. I have called the Center for Disease Control and begged them to help her, describing the ovas that fall from her hair and burn through her skin, suggesting that failure to treat her risks a health epidemic. The CDC refused to contact her.

"I waited in the doctor's office for three hours!" Subject A told me yesterday. "My head was on the chair for all that time. Think of all those people who are at risk being exposed to this!"

I called CBS News with this story. They showed no interest. I just sent Dr. Sanjay Gupta at CNN a link to this page. Maybe something will come of that. Why the hell am I reduced to calling the press to attempt to find her simple medical treatment????

I am becoming very angry now. What is happening to my sister is a serious form of abuse. Of torture. I may be just a truck driver but I know incompetence when I see it. Why will trained medical professionals not immediately prescribe praziquantel or oxamniquine for her? Schistosomiasis is so common that China requires praziquantel to be added to consumer salt. Clearly, the medical treatment system in Bakersfield, California is broken. BUT THE DOCTORS ARE SURE MAKING A LOT OF MONEY!! In the twenty years that she may have suffered from this undiagnosed parasitic disease, the total money spent by her family, state and federal assistance exceeds one million dollars treating the symptoms but not one cent treating the cause.

Schistosome from Subject A: This is incontestable proof of a schistosomiasis infection. The living female trematode (lower left) was observed by Subject A emerging from male fold. Note fibers forming on tail of male (upper right). All doctors have ignored this photograph and refused to prescribe praziquantal, the only drug recognized by the CDC and WHO as effective against the schistosoma flatworm. Subject A discovered this schistosome in her stool and gave it to a lead doctor at Mohawk medical group in Bakersfield, California in 2008. It was sent to pathology and the results came back negative. The doctor did not prescribe praziquantel. It is now August 2010. Subject A continues to suffer terribly. How can educated medical people ignore this evidence? My only conclusion is that our U.S. medical system is a fraud.

Genome of parasitic flatworm that causes schistosomiasis decoded
by Stanislav P. Abadjiev Science Centric 15 July 2009

An international team of scientists has sequenced the genome of Schistosoma mansoni, a parasitic worm, commonly known as a blood fluke, that infects 210 million in 76 countries through freshwater snails, and each year causing 280,000 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa alone. The research, said to be the largest genome sequencing of a parasite to date, is the cover article in the 16 July issue of Nature.

'This genome sequence catapults schistosomiasis research into a new era,' says Dr Matthew Berriman of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and first author and co-leader of the study. 'It provides a foundation for understanding aspects of the parasite's complex biology as well as a vehicle to immediately identify new targets for drug treatment.'

Knowing the organism's genetic codes will help researchers develop better medication for infections, a diagnostic field test and even a vaccine, said co-author Phil LoVerde, professor of biochemistry and pathology at the University of Texas Health Science Centre at San Antonio. He has studied the parasite, and its close relatives, for more than three decades.

A scanning electron micrograph image of the paired adult Schistosoma japonicum worms, where the female worm is embraced in the gynecophoral canal of the male worm. (c) Don McManus, Queensland Institute of Medical Sciences

The researchers sequenced the parasite genome using the whole-genome shotgun method. They found that the genome - about ten times the size of the malaria parasite genome - contained almost 12,000 genes.

Schistosomiasis, a neglected tropical disease, ranks with malaria and tuberculosis as a major cause of disease worldwide. Currently, there is only one drug treatment that is used to treat schistosomiasis and - with mounting fears that the parasites will become resistant - researchers have been looking at ways to find new drug targets. Today's publication provides the first steps.

Individuals in Africa contract the S. mansoni infection, known as schistosomiasis or 'snail fever,' by coming into contact with freshwater that contains the infected snails. Ten percent of infected persons develop an enlarged liver or spleen, as the body encapsulates S. mansoni eggs that have been deposited by the adult worms living in their victims' blood vessels. The disease is common among children who live in areas where the water is unsafe, sanitation is poor and basic health care is unavailable.

S. mansoni is classified as a helminth, a family of worms that includes roundworms, pinworms and tapeworms. S. mansoni male and female pairs produce 300 eggs a day, each of which can infect a freshwater snail that produces the infectious form of the parasite. When humans come into contact with freshwater that contains the infectious larvae, the larvae can burrow through unbroken skin and develop into an adult worm. The disease is caused by the egg stage.

Morgellons fibers begin to attack a suspected Schistosoma blood fluke.

Blood fluke expelled from nose (above).

Schistosomis

[Schistosoma mansoni] [Schistosoma haematobium]
[Schistosoma japonicum] [Schistosoma mekongi]
[Schistosoma intercalatum]

Another male Schistosoma from Subject A. The circular feature below the head
(right) is a characteristic of the many males that I have examined.

Causal Agents: Schistosomiasis is caused by digenetic blood trematodes. The three main species infecting humans are Schistosoma haematobium, S. japonicum, and S. mansoni. Two other species, more localized geographically, are S. mekongi and S. intercalatum. In addition, other species of schistosomes, which parasitize birds and mammals, can cause cercarial dermatitis in humans. Life Cycle: Eggs are eliminated with feces or urine . Under optimal conditions the eggs hatch and release miracidia , which swim and penetrate specific snail intermediate hosts . The stages in the snail include 2 generations of sporocysts and the production of cercariae . Upon release from the snail, the infective cercariae swim, penetrate the skin of the human host , and shed their forked tail, becoming schistosomulae . The schistosomulae migrate through several tissues and stages to their residence in the veins (, ). Adult worms in humans reside in the mesenteric venules in various locations, which at times seem to be specific for each species . For instance, S. japonicum is more frequently found in the superior mesenteric veins draining the small intestine , and S. mansoni occurs more often in the superior mesenteric veins draining the large intestine . However, both species can occupy either location, and they are capable of moving between sites, so it is not possible to state unequivocally that one species only occurs in one location. S. haematobium most often occurs in the venous plexus of bladder , but it can also be found in the rectal venules. The females (size 7 to 20 mm; males slightly smaller) deposit eggs in the small venules of the portal and perivesical systems. The eggs are moved progressively toward the lumen of the intestine (S. mansoni and S. japonicum) and of the bladder and ureters (S. haematobium), and are eliminated with feces or urine, respectively . Pathology of S. mansoni and S. japonicum schistosomiasis includes: Katayama fever, hepatic perisinusoidal egg granulomas, Symmers’ pipe stem periportal fibrosis, portal hypertension, and occasional embolic egg granulomas in brain or spinal cord. Pathology of S. haematobium schistosomiasis includes: hematuria, scarring, calcification, squamous cell carcinoma, and occasional embolic egg granulomas in brain or spinal cord. Human contact with water is thus necessary for infection by schistosomes. Various animals, such as dogs, cats, rodents, pigs, hourse and goats, serve as reservoirs for S. japonicum, and dogs for S. mekongi.

Geographic Distribution: Schistosoma mansoni is found in parts of South America and the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East; S. haematobium in Africa and the Middle East; and S. japonicum in the Far East. Schistosoma mekongi and S. intercalatum are found focally in Southeast Asia and central West Africa, respectively.

Clinical Features: Many infections are asymptomatic. Acute schistosomiasis (Katayama's fever) may occur weeks after the initial infection, especially by S. mansoni and S. japonicum. Manifestations include fever, cough, abdominal pain, diarrhea, hepatospenomegaly, and eosinophilia. Occasionally central nervous system lesions occur: cerebral granulomatous disease may be caused by ectopic S. japonicum eggs in the brain, and granulomatous lesions around ectopic eggs in the spinal cord from S. mansoni and S. haematobium infections may result in a transverse myelitis with flaccid paraplegia. Continuing infection may cause granulomatous reactions and fibrosis in the affected organs, which may result in manifestations that include: colonic polyposis with bloody diarrhea (Schistosoma mansoni mostly); portal hypertension with hematemesis and splenomegaly (S. mansoni, S. japonicum, S. mansoni); cystitis and ureteritis (S. haematobium) with hematuria, which can progress to bladder cancer; pulmonary hypertension (S. mansoni, S. japonicum, more rarely S. haematobium); glomerulonephritis; and central nervous system lesions.

Laboratory Diagnosis: Microscopic identification of eggs in stool or urine is the most practical method for diagnosis. Stool examination should be performed when infection with S. mansoni or S. japonicum is suspected, and urine examination should be performed if S. haematobium is suspected. Eggs can be present in the stool in infections with all Schistosoma species. The examination can be performed on a simple smear (1 to 2 mg of fecal material). Since eggs may be passed intermittently or in small amounts, their detection will be enhanced by repeated examinations and/or concentration procedures (such as the formalin-ethyl acetate technique). In addition, for field surveys and investigational purposes, the egg output can be quantified by using the Kato-Katz technique (20 to 50 mg of fecal material) or the Ritchie technique. Eggs can be found in the urine in infections with S. haematobium (recommended time for collection: between noon and 3 PM) and with S. japonicum. Detection will be enhanced by centrifugation and examination of the sediment. Quantification is possible by using filtration through a Nucleopore® membrane of a standard volume of urine followed by egg counts on the membrane. Tissue biopsy (rectal biopsy for all species and biopsy of the bladder for S. haematobium) may demonstrate eggs when stool or urine examinations are negative.

Diagnostic findings

Microscopy Antibody detection can be useful in both in clinical management (e.g., recent infections) and for epidemiologic surveys. Morphologic comparison with other intestinal parasites

Treatment: Safe and effective drugs are available for the treatment of schistosomiasis. The drug of choice is praziquantel for infections caused by all Schistosoma species. Oxamniquine has been effective in treating infections caused by S. mansoni in some areas in which praziquantel is less effective. For additional information, see the recommendations in The Medical Letter (Drugs for Parasitic Infections).

-- (Center for Disease Control http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Schistosomiasis.htm)

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"My brother has been my rock in all this. Together we are reaching out to researchers and scientists and anyone with interested in Morgellons, undiscovered illnesses or the micro world who can identify the assortment of insects that have claimed my body as home. Please help. My eighty-eight year old mom and I miss each other terribly. Am I contagious? Assuming I am, will I get to hug my mom before she dies?"

-- Subject A


Schistosoma from Subject A May 7, 2008
Copulating schistosomes	Schistosoma mansoni egg	A Schistosomiasis warning sign in Puerto Rico (Translated as Do Not Bathe Yourself Here. There is Bilharzia [the local term for the parasite). CDC