RUKUNGIRI, UGANDA: At least 650 people in Bwambare sub-county, Rukungiri District are being treated by jiggers that invaded them in August 2021.
18-year old Susan Mugisha, a resident of Kateramo village Kikongi parish Bwambara Sub County, Rujumbura county, Rukungiri District could not go back to school after the government reopened them on January 10 due to a jigger infestation that hit her home in December 2021.
Mugisha was in senior two at Bwambara Secondary school before the covid-19 induced lockdown in 2020. She is treating jiggers that attacked her feet, ankles, and hands.
She now wakes up every morning before sunrise to sit on the verandah of her father’s grass-thatched house made of mud and wattle to scratch and remove jiggers from her feet.
The LC1 Chairperson Kateramo village Bwambara sub-county Mr. John Tumushabe said many people including children ranging from the ages of two to five years are unable to walk while the adults between 50 and 70 years can no longer sit with their buttocks because of the jigger in the area.
“The situation is terrible and we are likely to start seeing people die because of jiggers if action is not taken soonest. Together with Members of the Village Health Team(VHT), we have sensitized the affected homes about improved hygiene but they have failed to copy with proper sanitation and home cleanliness” Mr Tumushabe said.
Ms Annet Kyobutungi, Rushebeya cell VHT said the problem is being escalated by locals’ failure to adhere to proper sanitation standards which has made them liable for jiggers attacks.
Rukungiri district Chairman LC5 Mr. Geoffrey Kyomukama asked all stakeholders to combine efforts in the fight against jiggers in the district before reporting death cases.
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