Jiggers are killing people in Africa

Jiggers, small insects which look like fleas, are the culprits in an epidemic which causes parts of the body to rot. They often enter through the feet. Once inside a person's body, they suck the blood, grow and breed, multiplying by the hundreds. Affected body parts — buttocks, lips, even eyelids — rot away. James Kakooza, Uganda's minister of state for primary health care, said jiggers can easily kill young children by sucking their blood and can cause early deaths in grown-ups who have other diseases. Most of those infected, especially the elderly, cannot walk or work. "It is an epidemic which we are fighting against and I am sure over time we will eradicate the jiggers," Kakooza said. The insects breed in dirty, dusty places. The medical name for the parasitic disease is tungiasis, which is caused by the female sand fly burrowing into the skin. It exists in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, besides sub-Saharan Africa. Kakooza said health workers are telling residents of the 12 affected districts in Uganda that jiggers thrive amid poor hygienic conditions. The most affected part of Uganda is the Busoga region in the east, 90 miles from Kampala, Uganda's capital. Some cases have been reported in the central region, less than 43 miles from the city, which has led to fears the whole country might be affected. Some affected people in rural Uganda, like Dakaba Kaala, think they are bewitched and simply wait to die instead of trying to remove the insects. "For the last three years I have been suffering from jiggers," the 60-year-old said. "I lost two children killed by jiggers.They were sent to me by my neighbour who wants to grab my piece of land."