Some clarification.
I personally know this doctor, Nick Mann; I have met with him and had a very long conversation about Morgellons and the collection of symptoms (common and not so common) that are referred to as "morgellons".
I will say briefly, that he is one of the most compassionate human beings that I have ever met. He is appalled at the shabby way in which many of us have been treated by the medical community. He believes very much that Morgellons is a medical condition, and he is very concerned about not only the level of suffering and personal havoc that Morgellons causes to individuals and their families, but the increasing number of cases, too.
My understanding is that Mann does NOT think that everyone who has Morgellons symptoms actually HAS rat mites. I believe him to think that some of us MAY have rat mites. But some of us also may have other co-infections other than rat mites. When I met him he was kind enough to ask me about my symptoms. He told me that he did not think that I had rat mites, but neither does he know what it is.
In this article, he is NOT saying: "look at the fibers, they are really folded up mite legs".
I believe that he is being misquoted, and that this article is poorly written.
Mann IS saying several things:
1. He himself had a mite infection that doctors in the UK think can only be got outside of the UK.
Ergo, doctors need to re-think their position on Morgellons and actually LOOK at what is going on in the skin of those suffering with Morgellons. If HE could have had a real medical problem not recognized by GP's, then it is certain that WE ALSO likely have something real, too.
2. There ARE some phenomenon (symptoms) associated with parasite infections that resemble artifacts (like fibers). In images of mites infecting hair follicles, mite legs often resemble fibers. He is making the case --NOT that Morgellons fibers are mite legs -- but that Morgellons fibers could be a variety of things, possibly associated with a parasite or other organism.
I have to say that Will Storr is one of the worst writers I have come across in a long while.
Similar confusion and inaccuracies appeared in his article about the last Morgellons Conference in Texas.
I wish he would stop writing about Morgellons, or take a writing course, because he is not really helping. He is only making things more confusing. And yes, I am qualified to make that judgment, being a published author, myself.
