A crude cure for a burrowing flea has proven tragic for people in the Murang's district of Kenya.Members of 13 families are reported to have contracted HIV from sharing pins to remove the Chigoe flea which burrow underneath the skin. Officials said a seven year old afflicted with the fleas ended up testing positive for HIV. He has since died. The dead child's mother and another male relative were also diagnosed with HIV.
According to officials of the Ahadi Kenya Trust, an organisation campaigning against jiggers, more than 10 people have died of jigger-related health conditions in the recent past and many others are in hospital. The jigger menace has also led school children to drop out.
To avert more infections, the trust providing each family with a dozen pins, which would be replenished regularly. “We estimate that over 2 million people in Kenya need assistance in relation to jiggers. Currently, we are serving about 100,000,” according to Dr Dawson Mbulamberi. Information courtesy Saturday Nation.
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