'Rejected by in-laws'
Enid Twasiima, one of Mrs Tindimutuma's daughters who had been married in another village, fell sick too. Her arm grew into an ashen, swollen log. The disease then moved to her legs. Her husband's family rejected her, and she returned to Kyakatoma village with her children. Enid Twasiima uses a handkerchief to keep away flies "I used to grow enough food for my family. For five years now, I have been stuck at home," Mrs Tindimutuma says. Ms Twasiima, sitting on a stool nearby, listens pensively. She covers the worst of the wounds with a dirty chequered handkerchief, tied around the leg, to keep away the buzzing flies. As we speak, a neighbour joins us. The lower part of his leg has a deep, oozing ulcer. Out of politeness, I stop short of covering my nose from the putrid smell. In 2015, a team of scientists visited the village searching for clues about this rare illness - classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a neglected tropical disease. They took samples of the soil, and tested those who were sick. Scientists have advised the villagers to wash their arms and legs after doing farm work Their results showed that the elephantiasis that has devastated dozens of families in Uganda's western district of Kamwenge, is a rare type known as podoconiosis. While the most common form of elephantiasis is caused by worms, microfilaria, transmitted by mosquitoes, podoconiosis results from exposure to minerals in the area's volcanic soils. "There are minerals such as silicon, iron and aluminium, really small particles which penetrate the skin," says senior epidemiologist Christine Kihembo, who led the study while working at the ministry of health. "They affect the normal flow of fluid in the limbs, causing the pain and inflammation. The condition manifests after years of exposure to the soil." Some reports indicate that more than 300 people might be affected in the district of Kamwenge alone. A few cases have been seen further south in Kisoro. Podoconiosis has also been recorded in Ethiopia, Rwanda and Cameroon. This type of elephantiasis is thought to affect about four million people globally, according to WHO estimates.'Gumboots prized'
Families in Kamwenge derive their livelihood from the land. The locals work the rich soil with basic tools, and their bare hands. After the findings of the study were published, the scientists advised the villagers to wear protective gear, and wash their arms and legs shortly after farm work. Gumboots became a prized possession, for those who could afford them. In the neighbouring village, 39-year-old Provia Arinaitwe whimpers as she rises from a mat in front of her small house. She is down with a bout of malaria, which has meant days of not caring for her legs. And now the pains are back. Her calloused legs are covered in dark marks, but Ms Arinaitwe does not have any festering wounds. She is in a better condition than anyone else I have met. And she shows me why. After washing her feet in a plastic basin of water, she measures out three scoops of table salt in her palm, throwing it into in the clean basin, where her daughter pours mugfuls of water. She soaks her feet in the water for 15 minutes. "When I do this, three times a day, it gives me great relief. I am able to go about my work. But sometimes I have no money to buy the salt, and the blisters and pain return," she says, wincing as she slips the feet into a pair of slippers. Dr Kihembo says that during the study, it was noted that people who washed their feet within at least two hours of finishing work on the farm were 11 times less likely to have symptoms of podoconiosis than those who cleaned up much later or not at all. There are drugs available in Uganda that can treat the more common form of elephantiasis, but sufferers from podoconiosis can only get symptomatic relief through painkillers, which are hard to afford.Shunned
Everest Beyanga is a local volunteer who, in the absence of a government intervention, has made it his job to document this misery. He carries around a sheaf of papers in a blue folder. Written on them are names, ages, villages: every single person suffering from this debilitating disease in his sub-county. On a separate sheet is a list of 30 who have died since he started doing his rounds. He sighs with hopelessness: "No-one was visiting these people. Everyone avoids them because their wounds stink. "I thought, 'This is my village too.' If the disease is indeed in the soil, we will all probably catch it. "Sometimes, all one needs is for you to drop in and greet them. But sometimes I do not even want to come, because I don't even have a pack of salt to offer them." At our last stop, the woman we have come to see asks after three people she knew, who had podoconiosis. They have all died since he last visited, Mr Beyanga tells her. She had not heard the news because she was not well enough to leave her home and no-one had come to see her. Her furrows her brow in response and she hobbles way to prune her banana trees with a machete.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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