What an earth is Jigger infection?

Having recently returned from my third visit to Western Kenya, I felt compelled to write something on the crazy scenes unfolding surrounding a little known menace called jiggers. Also known as Tunga Penetrans, Chigoe fleas or – perhaps less sophisticated – Dodos. We’ll stick with “Jiggers” as it is the most commonly used label in Kenya and also offers me quite a jazzy hook line for my blog. Once one gets past the childish humour that comes with such a name as Jiggers, we arrive at a serious neglected primary health issue that has sneakily chipped away at many unsuspecting individuals, not only in Kenya but also large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, South America, the Caribbean and pockets of Asia

Jigger Campaign in Kibingei, Western Kenya.

So now I have your attention, let’s get in to the nitty-gritty of the problem. 

What are Jiggers?

Without being to scientific, Jiggers are basically sand fleas. They are very small parasitic insects that live in dirty, dusty and dry terrain. They are often found in the soils and dusty homes of rural areas. To survive, a Jigger will latch on to either animals or humans, where it feasts on the blood. Jiggers are not high jumpers so they are most common in areas that are in contact with the floor e.g. toenails and fingernails. However there have been cases where they have infested all over the feet, legs, hands, elbows, buttocks and even private parts. The female jigger with the aid of the host’s blood can lay up to 100 eggs in two weeks, which drop off from the skin back on to the ground hatching within three to four days. The first signs of infestation are itching and irritation as well as a small black dot in the skin. If found and treated early one can avoid a lot of problems. Unfortunately, there are too many cases where the infestation is not identified early and the jiggers develop into a huge problem which needs special treatment. Infestation can lead to serious health and social problems of which we will explore at a later date.

AHADI KENYA – the main organisation that works on Jiggers in Kenya – has registered around 2.6 million infested people in Kenya alone. However the true number may well be more as it is very difficult to identify infested people as they are often in very rural areas where data is limited. Adding to this, jigger infection is something that quite frankly has received minimal attention across the board in the Global Development Health sector. Diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and Tetanus have understandably taken the limelight when it comes to donor funding and support. For these reasons the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises it as a neglected skin disease. Awareness needs to be raised on this subject if progress is to made. So for the next few weeks I will continue to post on this issue, addressing areas such as:

• The impact of jiggers and its implication
• How to prevent and treat jiggers
• What is being done to combat jiggers
• What needs to be done to combat jiggers

You may be surprised to learn just how problematic these jiggers can be. So please bear with me as I attempt to explain this as best I can in an interesting manner. I can’t promise that I won’t gross you out with some horrific pictures, but I hope that you take something from it and help raise awareness for those who are suffering daily from jiggers. Expect another post next week.