Jiggers infect 700 children in Moroto

A staff of International Rescue Committee treats the feet of a child affected with jiggers in Nadunget Sub-county last week. PHOTO BY STEVEN ARIONG  

A jigger outbreak in Nadunget Sub-county in Moroto District has left at least 700 children between the ages of two and five years almost physically impaired.

Ms Glades Nangiro, a village health team volunteer in Nadunget, said Acherer and Loputuk villages were the most affected.
“The district health team should help this sub-county like they did in Rupa last year,” Ms Nangiro said.

Last October, jiggers broke out in Rupa, leaving nearly 300 children and the elderly physically impaired, but after the Daily Monitor run the story, the district dispatched a health team to treat the cases.
The LC3 chairperson, Mr Max Lokabenyan, said residents cannot afford to treat the fleas attack.

“I have been advising residents to smear children with any cosmetic jelly but many parents are complaining of lack of money for buying the jelly,” Mr Lokabenyan said.

The district health director, Mr Michael Omeke Ebele, promised to send a team to treat the affected families.

Mr Ebele blamed the outbreak on poor hygiene, saying most parents do not bathe their children and clean their homes.

“Jiggers breed in places where there is poor hygiene. The major problem with our people is that they do not want to bathe, creating room for jiggers,” he said.

Local authorities say due to poverty and ignorance, residents share their tiny dusty houses with livestock, giving the fleas room to choose between humans or livestock as their host .