© Godfrey Olukya/Associated PressA 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.
Comment: While discussing the danger of hormone therapy, this article takes a few swipes at smoking. Let us point out that contrary to hormone therapy, which is harmful and promoted by Big Pharma, smoking is beneficial by boosting the acetylcholine level in your brain and thereby promoting learning, thinking and reducing stress. For more information on the anti-smoking scam, read our Focus article below:
Let's All Light Up!