© Godfrey Olukya/Associated Press
A 40-year-old man in eastern Uganda shows hands and feet infested by flea-like, blood-sucking jiggers. At least 20 Ugandans have died, and more than 20,000 have been sickened in just two months. Uganda's government has allocated $1 million to fight the epidemic.
A 40-year-old man in eastern Uganda shows hands and feet infested by flea-like, blood-sucking jiggers. At least 20 Ugandans have died, and more than 20,000 have been sickened in just two months. Uganda's government has allocated $1 million to fight the epidemic.
Jiggers, small insects that look like fleas, are the culprits in the epidemic, which causes parts of the body to rot. They often enter through the feet. Once inside a human, they suck blood and multiply 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 and cause early deaths in grown-ups with other diseases.
The parasitic disease, named tungiasis, also exists in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Some affected people in rural Uganda, such as Dakaba Kaala, 60, say they are bewitched and simply wait to die.
"I lost two children killed by jiggers," she said. "They were sent to me by my neighbor who wants to grab my piece of land."
The disease can be treated by removing the insect or with topical medication. Uganda's government has allocated $1 million to fight the epidemic.
where exactly is the lab that created that bug?