The Jigger Menace in Kenya

What causes jiggers? This is a question that many individuals ask especially those who live in cities or have never encountered them in thier lives but only hear about them in the media. jiggers also known as (Tunga penetrans) or sand fleas are normally found in sandy areas with warm, dry climates where they prefer soil and dust close to farms. While both male and female sand fleas intermittently feed on humans, with other hosts such as dogs, cats, rats, pigs, cattle and sheep, it is the pregnant female flea that burrows into the skin, feeding and growing a huge rounded belly because of being laden with eggs, which it lays outwards out of the skin. The eggs then hatch into sand fleas that can jump a distance which is 200 times its own body length.

The fleas usually prefer the skin under the toenails, although they can also invade the fingernails, soles ankles and knees. Poverty, ignorance and poor personal or general hygiene are usually the main reasons why people suffer from jiggers.Poor people are more likely to have no shoes, and also share accommodation with animals which carry fleas, and increase their vulnerability of suffering from jiggers.

Unfortunately, such people also have low levels of awareness about the causes, mode of spread and prevention of jiggers. Matters have not been helped by the myths surrounding the jigger problem, those who believe in witchcraft end up seeking treatment from traditional healers instead of seeking medical help.

Effective prevention of jiggers includes empowering people economically, giving them health and general education, hygiene promotion, and treatment of those affected. Jiggers risk passing on blood transmitted infections such as HIV and Hepatitis B. This happens when people share unsterilised safety pins or razor blades to remove the bugs. Jiggers are an emerging neglected disease found in Africa.

Some organisations have come up with ways to solve the jigger menace like the infamous Ahadi Trust ampong other organisations. One such area that recieved assistance from two NGOs is Ndhiwa.Education in Ndhiwa is expected to get a boost after the two NGOs set aside more than Sh10 million to fight the jigger menace in the area. Life For Children Welfare and US-based Tom's Shoes have launched a project aimed at buying shoes for pupils and cleaning the feet of those already infested with jiggers. Life For Children Welfare CEO Michael Agwanda said the programme aimed at providing shoes for 15,000 pupils in 25 primary schools in the sub-county. Speaking at Osodo Primary School when he launched the distribution of shoes, Mr Agwanda said each pupil would receive a pair that would be replaced after every six months. 

We started this programme some time ago but now we have upgraded the scale of our operation because all pupils with jiggers will have their feet cleaned. We also expect to those already affected use about 6,000 pairs of slippers," Agwanda said. POVERTY RATE Agwanda expessed concern over the high rate of poverty, which had denied many children shoes and predisposed them to jiggers. He said jiggers were an obstacle to academic performance among primary school pupils in the sub-county and called on the county government and development partners to join hands and help eradicate the parasites. He said there was no way standards of education could be uplifted if jiggers were not checked. "Jiggers cause a lot of embarrassment and discomfort for pupils to the point they are not able to comprehend what they are taught in class effectively," Agwanda said. Osodo Primary's head teacher Joash Otieno said some pupils were forced to miss school due to the pain caused by jiggers. Meanwhile, health workers under the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) in Migori County are on a go slow following a fruitless meeting with county Health executives to push for employment.

The ESP workers were demanding permanent and pensionable employment but the county government did not seem ready to offer it. Speaking to The Standard, the workers said they were not ready to work on contract any longer. "We cannot continue working on contract because our counterparts in other counties have been given permanent jobs. What makes Migori County different?" posed Evans Athiga, their chairman. 

References : www.standardmedia.co.ke

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