The chigoe flea or Jiggers are the culprits in the epidemic which cause parts of the body to rot. By Miriam Kauser.

They are small insects that look like fleas found in most tropical and sub-tropical climates.

Jiggers can occur on any part of the body, but it is common to find them in the feet. Once inside a person's body, they suck the blood, grow and breed, multiplying by the hundreds.

Jiggers, the disease whose symptoms seem to have come straight out of a horror movie is extremely prevalent in Kenya. Life is pure agony for children and adults living in run-down regions.

Most of them don’t wear shoes or sandals, their houses are mud floors, their feet are on the ground all the time, and they pick up the parasite because it enters through their feet.

Infested children are unable to go to school or play sports because their hands and feet are too sore to walk or write. Adults are unable to work as their feet are completely disfigured. Told to buy shoes, the infected are turned away from hospitals. The flies thrive in extremely dirty environments, where hygiene is poor and where there is excessive dust.

Those suffering from jiggers cannot afford to buy proper sanitation equipment, medicine, or shoes due to poverty.

This causes complications such as secondary infections, loss of nails, and toe deformation. When left untreated, jiggers can lead to serious medical problems, as it eats away the limbs and later other parts of those infected while inflicting deep rotting wounds, incapacitating the victim over time until they die.

Not only does Jiggers have physical consequences but it also has mental implications.

Those infected are subjected to discrimination and cruelty resulting in low self-esteem, shame and stigma. Children fail to attend to school rendering them illiterate, poor and dirty and thus the psychological trauma caused by the disease is immense.

Treatment for Jiggers can be delivered using a foot bath.

The feet are soaked in antiseptics, then needles are used to remove the bugs. Effective removal involves “digging” around the infested area, while being careful not to rupture the inflated area. If ruptured, the area can cause a re-infestation.

Additionally, those affected require shoes to prevent their feet from becoming infested again. The Tauheedul Charity has just finished treating thousands of children who were suffering from Jiggers.

The treatment programme was carried out as part of Tauheedul Charity’s Global Schools’ Health Programme, which aims to sustain and improve the health and well-being of young people in some of the world’s most deprived communities.

To go a step further, the charity is also providing these children with shoes, so that the problem does not reoccur.