"Clinical Management" has taken priority in efforts to treat these diseases,with little or no importance placed on finding the cause. Instead, medical Specialists have segregated various groups of symptoms into a wide array of seemingly distinct clinical entities. Each becoming a separate disease and the exclusive territory of the specialist that treats it. There has been growing evidence,however, in the last number of years implicating chronic viral infections as a root cause for many neuropsychiatric and inflammatory diseases. This evidence,however continues to be viewed a "unconvincing" by the Center for Disease Control.

Dr. John Martin, currently at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, detected a herpesvirus-related DNA sequence in several people suffering from Chronic Fatigue syndrome. Electron micrographs of these virus suggested a type of herpesvirus, but the growth characteristics and reactivity pattern were not those of any known herpesvirus. He named this virus "stealth" virus, because of it's apparent ability to occur in the absence of inflammation. By 1994, Martin advanced the idea of a spectrum of neurological illness potentially attributed to stealth virus. He had isolated the virus from patients suffering from, depression, dementia, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, and autism.

In 1994, a group of over forty patients in Trinity County California, previously diagnosed with a wide range of inflammatory or autoimmune diseases, were all found to test positive for Parvo, a virus known to be devastating to dogs, but considered benign in humans, making this one of the largest groups of patients with seemingly unrelated diseases to be identified as having a common underlying viral infection. This group led by a Sharre Tommisc, made pleas to the state and the CDC for further study of this virus and were met with disbelief, resistance and out-right criticism from the medical hierarchy. Frustrated and disgusted, Tommisc continued to study the virus on her own, finding what appeared to be a limitless number of patients that fit the criteria. Many, already diagnosed with any number of "autoimmune" or "inflammatory" diseases were receiving chemotherapy and steroids as treatment. Tommisc too,began to suspect that the growing number of "autoimmune"diseases could in fact be attributed to an underlying viral infection. That many new forms of viruses often go unrecognized, because of this country's history of rejecting the notion that animals and humans may share the same virus via parasites or soil.

Martin points the finger at contaminated vaccine lots found in early years of the Polio vaccination programs and suggest that animal viruses may have been inadvertently introduced into humans. "If a vaccine program were to be initiated today" says Dr. Martin "One surely would not import wild monkeys from Africa, create short term primary kidney cultures, add a human virus and administer the crude gamish derived from virally infected cells to virtually every child in the country." Monkey kidney cells are used for Polio and Adeno vaccines, while dog and duck kidney cells have been used for rubella vaccines and chicken cells used for measles and mumps vaccines. Martin and Tommisc both suspect these animals viruses, possibly now co-mingled with human herpes-virus, to be the cause of many of the diseases they are seeing today.

There is growing sense of frustration with the federal public health system and its limited response to increasing evidence of unrecognized viral infections, and with what appears to be a resistance on the part of those in authority, to face the issue of prior, if not present, vaccine contamination and the possibility that animal viruses have been introduced into human beings. This paper was written to assist the patient suffering from chronic neurological, degenerative or inflammatory disease. It is our hope that you will be tested for an underlying causative agent, and in doing so will be able to avoid inappropriate treatment that may result in further complications of the disease. The broad range of symptoms are limited only by the complexities of the body.

What your doctor will tell you: Your doctor may tell you what you have may have started with a virus but now it has become something else. That the virus set off an autoimmune response evidenced by autoantibodies that are now attacking your body. They may tell you that you are suffering from the aftermath of a viral infection that will eventually go away. They may tell you that you have a genetic predisposition or weakness, or you have allergies to your environment. They may tell you the only way to control this "new" disease is with chemotherapy and prednisone.

What the people in Trinity County Found: In 1994-95, over one hundred adults and juveniles in a small town in Trinity County, California were identified as testing positive for Parvo virus. Most of the people in the group had been previously diagnosed with the following diseases; Lupus, lymes, Wegener's granulomatosis, encephalitis, Bell's palsy, Chronic fatigue, arthritis, fibro myalgia, thyroiditis, vasculitis, heart disease, pneumonia, carpel tunnel, asthma, depression, hepatitis, colitis, Crohn's, menopause, pneumonia, migraines, gall stones, and more.

What you may be experiencing and why: Most symptoms find their origin in the epithelium. The broad range of symptoms is only limited by the complex capabilities of these cells. This means if the fastest growing cells in your body are affected, whether by damage or inflammation, the resulting array of symptoms remains the same. These fast growing cells are the very life of your body. They line your arteries, your stomach, your joints. They create the barriers that keep pressures and balances in your body and help protect from outside infection. From your skin to your heart valves, the production and health of these cells is vastly important to the condition of your body.

The following is a list of symptoms experienced by the Trinity group. Some attempt has been made to give a small amount of order to the vast number of possible symptoms. The following are the most common, suffered by the largest number of people.

Initial symptoms can include: a flat rash on the legs and or arms that comes and goes with exposure to heat, followed by a moderate to severe bronchial infection. Within a week, you may begin to experience joint pains. Some people experience chronic moderate pains that can last for many months. For some, the pain so acute, getting out of bed seems an impossible task. The most difficult movements are sitting down or standing up. The pain in the hips and knees can be so excruciating that help is required. The pain is described as sharp stabbing pain attacking your joints. Your feet may feel bruised and it can be very painful to walk on them. Even the small joints of the fingers can be affected. Shoulders, particularly the left shoulder, can also be very painful. Severe headaches that may have your doctor treating you for migraines, Encephalitis, or even ruptured discs in the neck, have been experienced. People have reported that it is sometime difficult to focus or read. Many experience sleep problems. Memory loss, difficulty putting thoughts together, or executing simple problem solving, are common complaints. Few people can clearly remember the acute period of the disease. They appear to be stupid and listless. They may begin having anxiety attacks, and/or depression can be severe. Coupled with the overwhelming level of fatigue and pain, a person can be reduced to not caring whether they live or die.

Digestive problems, bloating and tenderness of the abdomen, making it difficult, if not impossible, to button pants or skirts. Vomiting, nausea, and chronic diarrhea have been reported and a person may appear to have many new food allergies. Numbness has been reported in the eyelids, cheeks, lips, fingers, thighs, and lower arms, along with shaking, weakness and faintness. Swelling, or water retention is most commonly seen in the ankles,feet,fingers, eyelids, and lips. Many can no longer fit into their shoes and ankle bones disappear. It can be difficult to clench your fist in the morning from the swelling of the fingers. Extreme changes in blood pressure have been experienced, also several case of increased cerebral pressure. As the truly acute phase of the disease begins to pass, petechiae (small blood spots) may appear around the joints most severely affected. They have also been found around the cuticles and on the soles of the feet. Anemia may begin at this time and may be anywhere from mild to severe and may last indefinitely. Bleeding into the lungs, bladder, intestine, and stomach has been reported along with spontaneous bruising, change in menstrual cycle, or onset of menopause. Significant weight gain or loss, at the onset of the infection from inflammation of the thyroid.

Thinning of the hair, changes in skin texture, heart murmur and palpitations. Pneumonia. Asthma, fibroid lesions, lung infiltrates and chronic bronchitis. Symptoms may shift from one group to another over a period of time, with each new group the risk of misdiagnosis increases. Chronic infections can last from months to years. If animal viruses have been inadvertently introduced in humans, the sooner we find out, the better. If you are suffering from one of the disease mentioned above, we would very much like to hear from you. It is important to identify as many cases as possible and bring them to the attention of the public health system. There are efforts being made to setup a laboratory who's main focus will be the study of these virus and how they manifest in humans. It will be headed by Dr. John Martin and called, The Center for Complex Infectious Diseases, CCID.

We have come together in spirit, with the desire to see that people suffering from these viral infections receive compassionate, supportive and appropriate care.....Sharre T.

For more information about how you might be a part of this study, call one of the following numbers:

CONTACTS: GEOFF@geofjoan.demon.co.uk (GEOFF LEWIS) seasmoke@teleport.com (SHARRE TOMMISC) PHONE: 541-547-3502 wjmartin@mizar.usc.edu (JOHN MARTIN, MD) PHONE: 818-799-4500

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