Investigating Morgellons Syndrome

Historical Morgellons

Mary Leitao named the phenomenon as Morgellons following her discovery of a 17th century text (in fact a letter), written by Sir Thomas Browne, which described symptoms that she felt were similar to those her son was suffering. This, of course, suggests that Morgellons is not a new disease at all, but one that has a long history and has either existed beneath the diagnostic radar, or has been dormant and suddenly, for reasons currently unknown, become active again.

It seems to be fairly well established now that what Browne was describing in the 17th century and what is happening now are not related. The connection is no longer made on the MRF website and even a cursory glance at the descriptions of 'historical' and 'contemporary' Morgellons is enough to conclude that they are very different. This then suggests that Morgellons is a new condition, certainly one without a long medical history.

Despite the fact that Morgellons appears to be a relatively new ailment a consideration of medical history is illuminating and has implications for the question of how a set of symptoms become recognised as a new disease.

Historical Context

Historically there have been two opposing views as to the nature of sickness and disease. The debate has revolved around the questions of whether diseases exist as specific entities outside of the individual, the 'ontological' view, or, does a disease only exist in individuals with no independent existence of its own, the 'holistic' view.

Robert Aronowitz, Making Sense of Illness: Science, Society, and Disease, observes that the ascendancy of germ theory in the late 19th Century meant that the ontological view came to be dominant and that individual factors, such as emotions and lifestyle, etc, have since been relegated to the margins of medical and lay concerns. The holistic view is thus less credible today and therefore environmental and personality factors are not always considered in the way they once were, or perhaps still should be.

With the ontological view dominant the onus is on the discovery of a physical entity causing specific illness in order for the medical community to be able to consider a set of symptoms as indicators of a distinct disease.

The problem with Morgellons is that currently, albeit with somewhat limited investigation, thus far no new infectious agent has been identified in any of the cases. This means that, at present, Morgellons is only a set of wide-ranging symptoms subjectively described by patients. This is the sticking point for many in the medical profession and is why many professionals are reluctant to take the issue seriously.

With no infectious agent Morgellons cannot yet be described as a disease, but should be more correctly be referred to as a 'syndrome'.

The Origin of Symptoms