The Morgellons Research Foundation (MRF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established in 2002 in honor of a two-year-old child with an unknown illness, which his mother labeled “Morgellons disease”. The MRF is dedicated to raising awareness and research funding for this poorly understood illness, which can be disfiguring and disabling, and affects people of all age groups including an increasing number of children. The number of families currently registered with the MRF is believed to represent a fraction of the true number of affected families. The MRF fully supports the formal efforts by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Division of Research to investigate Morgellons disease. The MRF will continue to financially assist the ongoing efforts of private research scientists who are dedicated to solving the mystery of this tragic illness. CDC Investigation: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California Division of Research held a national media telebriefing on January 16, 2008 announcing government efforts to investigate the cause of this illness. Follow this link for a transcript of the media telebriefing. According to the CDC: “Morgellons is an unexplained and debilitating condition that has emerged as a public health concern. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received an increased number of inquiries from the public, health care providers, public health officials, Congress, and the media regarding this condition. Persons who suffer from this condition report a range of coetaneous symptoms including crawling, biting and stinging sensations; granules, threads or black speck-like materials on or beneath the skin; and/or skin lesions (e.g., rashes or sores) and some sufferers also report systemic manifestations such as fatigue, mental confusion, short term memory loss, joint pain, and changes in vision”