Treating Jiggers

The Western Organization for People Living with AIDS/HIV (WOPLAH) aims to provide services for people living with the disease through community support groups, income generating projects, microfinancing and free health services. I am also quickly learning that perhaps the organization needs to reconsider their name as they deal with a much larger scope of issues than just those for people living with AIDS. Some of WOPLAH'S projects include kitchen gardens, goat and poultry rearing, village banking (a loan system) and access to anti-retroviral treatment (ARV's). 

Today we visited a school which needed help treating children for infection of jiggers. Jiggers is a flea size bug which is attracted to skin (especially dirty skin), and burrows itself inside the host. It eventually lays eggs and quickly spreads causing dehabilitaing effects for the host. It can be a life threatening disease, as often people are left without means to eat or make a living if they can no longer walk. 

The school we visited today was identified as needing treatment for jiggers as they had several students who were already severely affected and it is likely to spread to more students. It was extremely difficult to watch and help with the process of treating jiggers. The children had to soak in a special solution and then community health workers would literally cut off the infected parts of their skin. Several kids screamed and cried because it is so painful, and it was heart wrenching to know that they had no means of preventing such a terrible disease. 

After cutting out all of the infected areas, we helped apply petroleum jelly to their feet and hands. The

 principle told us many of these students have to walk over 3 miles to get to school and the thought of them doing so with their painful, open wounds was disheartening. 

We also learned that the children were supposed to inform their parents that they would be treated and that they should come to school that day. There was only one family who showed up; every family member, including the baby who looked around 2 years old, was severely infected. We found out later that they do not even have a house, so it is no wonder they cannot afford to worry about proper sanitation. WOPLAH is hoping to do a follow-up with this family and others in order to assess the feasibility of beginning an income generating project for them. 

Unfortunately, most of the kids who are treated end up getting jiggers again because they cannot afford to clean themselves with the solution. Jiggers can be prevented with shoes and proper hygeine. It seems that the only long-term solution for this issue is to ensure a means of income for these families. Providing them with shoes may provide a temporary fix, but it is not likely to solve the problem. 

Although WOPLAH and the other community health workers are doing amazing work to reduce this problem, we were concerned about some of their practices. Multiple children would soak their feet and hands in the same tub; after being treated they would return their open, bloody wounds into the shared water which is obviously a risk for transmitting HIV and other diseases. It seems senseless to heal one disease and spread another. 

Overall this was a very difficult experience, and I left feeling extremely helpless with regards to this issue. I hope to brainstorm with WOPLAH sustainable ways of preventing and curing jiggers. I will at least hope that the kids we cured today stay jigger-free and can learn what it is like to run and play with the other children.