Monday, November 30, 2009
Congrats Moses!
Congratulations are in order! All of the money Moses needed has been raised. This is a very great, positive step towards a better standard of living for Kenyans. But, more people still need a chance to buy/sell shoes. Another man, Francis Mburu is trying to get a loan. He runs a informal stoor that sells many household goods including shoes. Check out his Kiva page and help Kenyans take a positive step.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sign our Petition! Bring Awareness to Washington!
Help us take our mission to Washington! Please sign the petition to bring about awarness for the shoeless at: http://www.change.org/actions/view/shoes_for_kenyans_make_a_difference_through_kiva
Facebook Page is Go!
Shoes For Kenyans now has a Facebook page! Check it out and join!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=183064942557
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=183064942557
Teenage Philanthropists
The super-wealthy of the United States are often the super-generous. The names of Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Oprah Winfrey, to name a few, are imposed on buildings, scholarship programs, and community aid programs. There wealth and generosity have impacted and improved millions of peoples lives throughout the world.
The traditional sense of Philanthropy has been shaken up with the emergence of KIVA and micro lending. Anyone can be a philanthropist now because small amounts of money make a huge impact in developing countries.
Teenagers have been one of the largest benefactor groups to KIVA. Check out this link to an article discussing the impact that teenagers are making through KIVA.
http://www.edutopia.org/microlending-global-philanthropy-fundraising-entrepreneurs
The traditional sense of Philanthropy has been shaken up with the emergence of KIVA and micro lending. Anyone can be a philanthropist now because small amounts of money make a huge impact in developing countries.
Teenagers have been one of the largest benefactor groups to KIVA. Check out this link to an article discussing the impact that teenagers are making through KIVA.
http://www.edutopia.org/microlending-global-philanthropy-fundraising-entrepreneurs
Thursday, November 19, 2009
We can Digg it!
Shoes for Kenyans is now on Digg! Digg us now at:
http://digg.com/world_news/Shoes_for_Kenyans_Helping_the_poor_get_on_their_feet
http://digg.com/world_news/Shoes_for_Kenyans_Helping_the_poor_get_on_their_feet
Moses Kuria: A Man with a Sole
Please visit the link below or click the picture of Moses to the right to donate to his shoe store. With your help, he can better the live of his family, his employee, and the people his town. Five people have donated $125 already. Won't you help, too?
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=152592&_tpos=7&_tpg=1
---
Moses is 32 years old and married with a two-year-old son. He has a shoe shop where he sells new and old shoes. He’s run this business for seven years and has one employee. Moses is requesting a loan for Kes 70,000 to increase his inventory.
Moses says that since joining Faulu, he has learnt about how to save and manage his business. He describes himself as determined, visionary, and cooperative. In the future, he would like to buy a plot of land and build a home for his family and expand his business into a large shoe store.
Important Information About This Loan
Faulu Kenya aims to empower Kenyans by providing relevant financial solutions. Faulu is a sustainable and profitable microfinance institution that offers savings and credit services to over 225,000 Kenyans. Faulu recently became the first MFI in Kenya to be licensed as a Deposit-Taking Micro-Finance Company, which will enable Faulu to better serve its clients.
---
Information taken directly from kiva.org.
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=152592&_tpos=7&_tpg=1
---
Moses is 32 years old and married with a two-year-old son. He has a shoe shop where he sells new and old shoes. He’s run this business for seven years and has one employee. Moses is requesting a loan for Kes 70,000 to increase his inventory.
Moses says that since joining Faulu, he has learnt about how to save and manage his business. He describes himself as determined, visionary, and cooperative. In the future, he would like to buy a plot of land and build a home for his family and expand his business into a large shoe store.
Important Information About This Loan
Faulu Kenya aims to empower Kenyans by providing relevant financial solutions. Faulu is a sustainable and profitable microfinance institution that offers savings and credit services to over 225,000 Kenyans. Faulu recently became the first MFI in Kenya to be licensed as a Deposit-Taking Micro-Finance Company, which will enable Faulu to better serve its clients.
---
Information taken directly from kiva.org.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Poverty in Kenya
Kenya is located in Eastern Africa with a coast on the Indian Ocean. With a semi-presidential Republic government and an estimated population of 39,802,000 in 2009, Kenya has made large strides. Although the recent development has helped to improve the area Kenya still needs help, according to a 2005 report by the United Nations ranked Kenya as 154th out of a list of 177 countries, in terms of life expectancy, literacy levels and overall gross domestic product. According to Kenya-Advisor.com:
Around three quarters of Kenya's population is dependent on the agriculture industry, but with its erratic weather patterns and vast regions of arid desert, it is a very unstable sector. Periods of drought can be crippling, not only in terms of food supply, but in jobs as well. Even when crops have been sufficient, poor government policies and international trade terms hampered agricultural growth, leading to further declines in the industry .
In many of the rural villages in Kenya farming is one of the only known trades. By donating threw Kiva you can help those in Kenya develop trades that will not only help those located with in a certain village but those across the country as Kenya as well.
Around three quarters of Kenya's population is dependent on the agriculture industry, but with its erratic weather patterns and vast regions of arid desert, it is a very unstable sector. Periods of drought can be crippling, not only in terms of food supply, but in jobs as well. Even when crops have been sufficient, poor government policies and international trade terms hampered agricultural growth, leading to further declines in the industry .
In many of the rural villages in Kenya farming is one of the only known trades. By donating threw Kiva you can help those in Kenya develop trades that will not only help those located with in a certain village but those across the country as Kenya as well.
Why Donate Through Kiva?
By donating as little as $25 you can help change someone’s life in a developing country. Kiva is a unique organization that focuses on microlending. Your donation will be combined with donations from others to composite a loan that is being requested. By loaning the money instead of simply donating you have the opportunity to teach someone an skill set the entrepreneurial skill that can benefit them threw out their life. Another advantage of loaning money is that you are enabling someone to build credit by paying back the loan. Kiva enables its participants many opportunities that a simple donation can’t. You can give a man fish that will feed him for a day or you can teach a man to fish and he can eat for a lifetime.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Health Risks of Going Shoeless in Africa
This information is taken directly from the Flipflop Foundation's website, http://www.flipflopfoundation.org/. It's the best information there; check it out! They want to help Africans get shoes, just like you and I!
Footwear in Africa is extremely important in order to reduce trauma, hookworm and parasitic diseases that enter the bare foot. It is also important to lower the risk for podoconiosis and Kaposi’s sarcoma. While these are not limited to children, they are the most vulnerable population to many of these infections or conditions. The ones listed below represent a large proportion of the health issues associated with foot trauma or skin exposure. There are many others. For a more comprehensive review, we suggest visiting the CDC website: www.CDC.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites.html
Mosquitoes are a vector for many diseases including malaria, yellow fever and dengue. All of these diseases lead to significant suffering and sometimes death. Children and the chronically ill are especially susceptible to their devastating effects. Prevention via the use of mosquito bed nets is a key to reducing this morbidity.
Diseases & conditions which are minimized or prevented by wearing appropriate footwear
Trauma to the feet is a risk factor for systemic disease. If a child steps on a nail, a discarded tin can or other debris, the protective barrier of the skin is breached and can lead to tetanus or a deep bone infection, known as osteomyelitis. Appropriate footwear remains the key to preventing these illnesses as well as the parasitic infections detailed below.
Cutaneous larva migrans, also known as creeping eruption, is by far the most common of the migratory skin infections. It develops when infective larvae of animal hookworms (usually Ancylostoma braziliense but occasionally others) penetrate the skin and migrate in superficial tissues, producing a characteristic serpiginous eruption. Lesions appear within several days of exposure and most often are found on the feet, buttocks, and thighs. The larvae can migrate for weeks and rarely for as long as a year in the absence of intervention. Humans become infected after direct contact with soil, sand or other material contaminated with feces from hookworm-infected animals, usually dogs or cats. Lesions can be itchy or painful, and may be papular or vesiculobullous. Secondary staphylococcal or streptococcal infection can complicate this parasitic infection. Although infection is typically self-limited, treatment can shorten the clinical course.
Source:
Jelinek T; Maiwald H; Nothdurft HD; Loscher T Cutaneous larva migrans in travelers: synopsis of histories, symptoms, and treatment of 98 patients. Clin Infect Dis 1994 Dec;19(6):1062-6.
Hookworm is an intestinal parasite that is caused by direct contact with soil contaminated with larvae, or by ingestion of the larvae. It infects 1 billion people worldwide and is found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The larvae typically penetrate the skin of the legs or feet and travel in the venous system to the heart, and then to the lungs where they enter the airways. Next, they are coughed up into the throat and then swallowed. In the intestine, the larvae develop into worms that attach to the bowel wall and suck blood. Excretion of the eggs into the soil completes the life cycle. Hookworm causes anemia, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. It can also cause growth retardation. The incidence of hookworm infection may be reduced by wearing shoes.
Sources:
1. Hotez, PJ and Pritchard DI. Hookworm Infection. Scientific American. 272 (6) June 68-74 (1995).
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Parasitic Diseases Factsheet. Hookworm. August 1999
3. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/hookworm/default.htm
Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) is a rare cancer that first gained widespread attention as the hallmark of AIDS, but in Africa, this cancer was common long before the AIDS epidemic and seemed to be limited to the foot and lower legs. Endemic (not due to HIV) KS has been identified in Uganda, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria and Cameroon. The distribution of endemic KS is similar to that of podoconiosis that strikes barefoot highland farmers. KS is caused by an infection with a herpesvirus (HHV-8) that is particularly virulent in someone whose immune system is suppressed. It is believed that the lymph vessels respond to soil exposure by an inflammatory response that may enable the causative virus to proliferate in the skin of the feet and legs. With the AIDS virus, the entire immune system collapses and KS is found throughout the body. Going barefoot is a risk factor for KS. Use of appropriate footwear can lower this risk.
Sources:
1. Endemic Kaposi’s sarcoma in Africa and local volcanic soils. John Ziegler. The Lancet, 1348-1351 (Nov. 1993).
2. Risk Factors for Kaposi’s sarcoma: A case control study of HIV – seronegative people in Uganda. John Ziegler et al.
Int. J. Cancer: 103, 233 – 240 (2003).
Podoconiosis (“mossy foot”) is a type of endemic non-filarial elephantiasis. It is prevalent in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Guinea, particularly in barefoot agricultural workers. Tiny particles of silica penetrate the skin of barefoot farmers who walk in volcanic soils. These particles enter the lymphatic vessels. The body reacts as if a wound is present and makes a fibrous plug that clogs the lymphatics, causing elephantiasis. This disease is preventable by wearing shoes.
Sources:
1. Podoconiosis: non-filarial elephantiasis. EW Price. Oxford University Press. NY 1990.
2. Podoconiosis: endemic non-filarial elephantiasis. LC Fuller. Current Opinions Infectious Disease. April 18 (2) 119 – 122
(2005).
Schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) is a disease caused by parasitic worms. There are 3 major and 2 minor species, 3 of which occur in the Zambia region: Major: Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma hematobium, and Minor: Schistosoma intercalatum. These are not found in North America. Together, schistosomiasis affects an estimated 1 in 30 persons globally or 200 million people with many in the sub-Saharan African region. It is responsible for more than 200,000 deaths every year. Its highest prevalence and severity is in school-aged children. Infection occurs when skin comes in contact with contaminated fresh water in which certain types of snails that carry schistosomes are living. The parasite leaves the snail and enters the water where it can penetrate the skin of persons who are wading, swimming, or washing in contaminated water. Within several weeks, worms grow inside the blood vessels of the body and produce eggs. The body reacts to the eggs with fever, chills, cough and muscle aches. Long term exposure can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver or bladder cancer, depending upon the type of schistosome infection. Excretion of the eggs through urine and feces complete the life cycle of the worm. Repeated infections can damage the liver, intestines, lung and bladder. Use of proper footwear and avoidance of contaminated water can minimize the occurrence of this disease.
Sources:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Parasitic Diseases Factsheet. Schistosomiasis. August 2004;,
2. Chistulo, L, Loverde, P, Engels, D. Disease Watch: Schistosomiasis. TDR Nature Reviews Microbiology 2004; 2:12.
3. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/schistosomiasis/default.htm
Strongyloides stercoralis is a very small threadlike roundworm that is found throughout the tropic and subtropic regions of the world, and sporadically in more temperate climates. Females tend to burrow into the colon wall and either encyst or every couple of weeks release an egg that may or may not hatch in the gut. Transmission is rarely through the fecal-oral route, but more often by the adolescent worm burrowing through the skin, usually the bare foot when walking on or near ground contaminated with human or animal waste. This may occur simply by walking on a well-used trail used by both humans and animals, domestic or non-domestic, or the use of animal or human waste for crop fertilizer and tending those crops. The skin reaction that can occur is often referred to as “larva currens” or running larva. Mild infestation is usually asymptomatic and unrecognized. Moderate infections can produce local skin rashes from primary infection sites that may be very itchy, abdominal pain and nausea, vomiting or loss of appetite, or diarrhea, or even asthma-like syndromes. However, in starvation, malnourishment, or HIV infection, hyperinfection occurs rapidly. This is frequently fatal. Treatment is with an agent called ivermectin. However, one doesn’t develop protective immunity after an infection, so re-infection can occur. Prevention is relatively easy by use of shoes or some protection from the ground, and education on animal and human waste management and hygiene.
Sources:
1. Siddiqui, AA, Genta, RM, Berk, SL. Strongyloidiasis. Chap 111 in Trop Infectious Diseases - Principles, Practices and
Pathogens. Guerrant, RL, Walker, DH, Weller, PF (eds). Churchhill-Livingstone Elsevier, Philadelphia, 2006. p. 1274.
2. http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Strongyloidiasis.htm
Tungiasis is a disease caused by a parasitic flea (Tunga penetrans). Although rare in the United States, it is found in tropical Africa and is highly prevalent where people live in poverty. About 42% of Nigerian children are infected with tungiasis. This disease affects the feet because this sand flea is a poor jumper and therefore burrows into the skin of the host on the bare foot or toes. Painful swelling and the development of a fibrous cyst follows. It may progress to bacteremia, gangrene, tetanus and death. The major risk factor for developing tungiasis is failure to wear shoes when walking in sand infested with fleas. The primary method of prevention is simply to wear some type of footwear.
Source:
Paul McKinney, MD and L. Clifford McDonald, MD, University of Louisville School of Medicine, EMedicine, April 2006 .
Mosquito-transmitted infections & other insect-related conditions
In all mosquito-related infections, prevention is clearly the most effective way to save lives. This includes education regarding water and standing water sources and use of mosquito nets particularly in young children.
Dengue Fever is a viral infection that is transmitted by the Aedes species of mosquitoes. These mosquitoes can be found in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. First-time infection may produce a flu-like illness. A repeat infection can produce the hemorrhagic fever form of this disease. There is no effective protective immunity from prior infection. In fact, the immune response to Dengue virus appears to result in a permissive response to a second infection—actually facilitating virus infection of cells. Children to age 11 are at highest risk for hemorrhagic disease. There is no known therapy and no known preventive vaccine for this infection.
Source:
Gubler, DJ. Epidemic dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever: a global public health problem in the 21st century. In:
Emerging Infections I. Scheld, WM, Armstrong, D, Hughes, JM, (Eds), ASM Press, Washington DC 1998. p.1
Malaria is an intracellular parasitic infection of the red blood cells caused by Plasmodium species.
Plasmodium falciparum is the most deadly, and with P. vivax, cause the majority of malaria cases in the world. The CDC and WHO estimate between 300-500 million cases of malaria worldwide annually, with up to 2.7 million deaths. The majority of deaths occur in children in endemic areas of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is by the Anopheles mosquito. There is marked seasonality to infection, with the worst case occurrence being in the rainy season. During the rainy season, populations in some areas of Africa may receive up to 50-100 infectious mosquito bites per month.
Sources:
1. Filler S, Causer LM, Newmay RD et al. Malaria surveillance—United States 2001. MMWR Surveill Summ 2003; 52:1.
2. Olliaro P, Cattani J, Wirth D. Malaria, the submerged disease. JAMA 1996;275:230.
Loiasis, caused by the Loa loa worm, is transmitted by bites of an infective Chrysops fly and is endemic in Western and Central Africa. This disease is characterized by localized areas of angioedema known as Calabar swellings. These are warm, itchy, or painful swellings that may come and go, often recurring multiple times per year. Worms can survive for more than 10 years and can occasionally be observed crossing the conjunctiva at a rate of about 1 cm per minute.
Source:
Klion AD; Massougbodji A; Sadeler BC; Ottesen EA; Nutman TB, Loiasis in endemic and nonendemic populations:
immunologically mediated differences in clinical presentation. J Infect Dis 1991 Jun;163(6): 1318-25.
Footwear in Africa is extremely important in order to reduce trauma, hookworm and parasitic diseases that enter the bare foot. It is also important to lower the risk for podoconiosis and Kaposi’s sarcoma. While these are not limited to children, they are the most vulnerable population to many of these infections or conditions. The ones listed below represent a large proportion of the health issues associated with foot trauma or skin exposure. There are many others. For a more comprehensive review, we suggest visiting the CDC website: www.CDC.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites.html
Mosquitoes are a vector for many diseases including malaria, yellow fever and dengue. All of these diseases lead to significant suffering and sometimes death. Children and the chronically ill are especially susceptible to their devastating effects. Prevention via the use of mosquito bed nets is a key to reducing this morbidity.
Diseases & conditions which are minimized or prevented by wearing appropriate footwear
Trauma to the feet is a risk factor for systemic disease. If a child steps on a nail, a discarded tin can or other debris, the protective barrier of the skin is breached and can lead to tetanus or a deep bone infection, known as osteomyelitis. Appropriate footwear remains the key to preventing these illnesses as well as the parasitic infections detailed below.
Cutaneous larva migrans, also known as creeping eruption, is by far the most common of the migratory skin infections. It develops when infective larvae of animal hookworms (usually Ancylostoma braziliense but occasionally others) penetrate the skin and migrate in superficial tissues, producing a characteristic serpiginous eruption. Lesions appear within several days of exposure and most often are found on the feet, buttocks, and thighs. The larvae can migrate for weeks and rarely for as long as a year in the absence of intervention. Humans become infected after direct contact with soil, sand or other material contaminated with feces from hookworm-infected animals, usually dogs or cats. Lesions can be itchy or painful, and may be papular or vesiculobullous. Secondary staphylococcal or streptococcal infection can complicate this parasitic infection. Although infection is typically self-limited, treatment can shorten the clinical course.
Source:
Jelinek T; Maiwald H; Nothdurft HD; Loscher T Cutaneous larva migrans in travelers: synopsis of histories, symptoms, and treatment of 98 patients. Clin Infect Dis 1994 Dec;19(6):1062-6.
Hookworm is an intestinal parasite that is caused by direct contact with soil contaminated with larvae, or by ingestion of the larvae. It infects 1 billion people worldwide and is found in Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. The larvae typically penetrate the skin of the legs or feet and travel in the venous system to the heart, and then to the lungs where they enter the airways. Next, they are coughed up into the throat and then swallowed. In the intestine, the larvae develop into worms that attach to the bowel wall and suck blood. Excretion of the eggs into the soil completes the life cycle. Hookworm causes anemia, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. It can also cause growth retardation. The incidence of hookworm infection may be reduced by wearing shoes.
Sources:
1. Hotez, PJ and Pritchard DI. Hookworm Infection. Scientific American. 272 (6) June 68-74 (1995).
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Parasitic Diseases Factsheet. Hookworm. August 1999
3. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/hookworm/default.htm
Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) is a rare cancer that first gained widespread attention as the hallmark of AIDS, but in Africa, this cancer was common long before the AIDS epidemic and seemed to be limited to the foot and lower legs. Endemic (not due to HIV) KS has been identified in Uganda, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Nigeria and Cameroon. The distribution of endemic KS is similar to that of podoconiosis that strikes barefoot highland farmers. KS is caused by an infection with a herpesvirus (HHV-8) that is particularly virulent in someone whose immune system is suppressed. It is believed that the lymph vessels respond to soil exposure by an inflammatory response that may enable the causative virus to proliferate in the skin of the feet and legs. With the AIDS virus, the entire immune system collapses and KS is found throughout the body. Going barefoot is a risk factor for KS. Use of appropriate footwear can lower this risk.
Sources:
1. Endemic Kaposi’s sarcoma in Africa and local volcanic soils. John Ziegler. The Lancet, 1348-1351 (Nov. 1993).
2. Risk Factors for Kaposi’s sarcoma: A case control study of HIV – seronegative people in Uganda. John Ziegler et al.
Int. J. Cancer: 103, 233 – 240 (2003).
Podoconiosis (“mossy foot”) is a type of endemic non-filarial elephantiasis. It is prevalent in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Guinea, particularly in barefoot agricultural workers. Tiny particles of silica penetrate the skin of barefoot farmers who walk in volcanic soils. These particles enter the lymphatic vessels. The body reacts as if a wound is present and makes a fibrous plug that clogs the lymphatics, causing elephantiasis. This disease is preventable by wearing shoes.
Sources:
1. Podoconiosis: non-filarial elephantiasis. EW Price. Oxford University Press. NY 1990.
2. Podoconiosis: endemic non-filarial elephantiasis. LC Fuller. Current Opinions Infectious Disease. April 18 (2) 119 – 122
(2005).
Schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) is a disease caused by parasitic worms. There are 3 major and 2 minor species, 3 of which occur in the Zambia region: Major: Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma hematobium, and Minor: Schistosoma intercalatum. These are not found in North America. Together, schistosomiasis affects an estimated 1 in 30 persons globally or 200 million people with many in the sub-Saharan African region. It is responsible for more than 200,000 deaths every year. Its highest prevalence and severity is in school-aged children. Infection occurs when skin comes in contact with contaminated fresh water in which certain types of snails that carry schistosomes are living. The parasite leaves the snail and enters the water where it can penetrate the skin of persons who are wading, swimming, or washing in contaminated water. Within several weeks, worms grow inside the blood vessels of the body and produce eggs. The body reacts to the eggs with fever, chills, cough and muscle aches. Long term exposure can lead to cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver or bladder cancer, depending upon the type of schistosome infection. Excretion of the eggs through urine and feces complete the life cycle of the worm. Repeated infections can damage the liver, intestines, lung and bladder. Use of proper footwear and avoidance of contaminated water can minimize the occurrence of this disease.
Sources:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Parasitic Diseases Factsheet. Schistosomiasis. August 2004;,
2. Chistulo, L, Loverde, P, Engels, D. Disease Watch: Schistosomiasis. TDR Nature Reviews Microbiology 2004; 2:12.
3. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/schistosomiasis/default.htm
Strongyloides stercoralis is a very small threadlike roundworm that is found throughout the tropic and subtropic regions of the world, and sporadically in more temperate climates. Females tend to burrow into the colon wall and either encyst or every couple of weeks release an egg that may or may not hatch in the gut. Transmission is rarely through the fecal-oral route, but more often by the adolescent worm burrowing through the skin, usually the bare foot when walking on or near ground contaminated with human or animal waste. This may occur simply by walking on a well-used trail used by both humans and animals, domestic or non-domestic, or the use of animal or human waste for crop fertilizer and tending those crops. The skin reaction that can occur is often referred to as “larva currens” or running larva. Mild infestation is usually asymptomatic and unrecognized. Moderate infections can produce local skin rashes from primary infection sites that may be very itchy, abdominal pain and nausea, vomiting or loss of appetite, or diarrhea, or even asthma-like syndromes. However, in starvation, malnourishment, or HIV infection, hyperinfection occurs rapidly. This is frequently fatal. Treatment is with an agent called ivermectin. However, one doesn’t develop protective immunity after an infection, so re-infection can occur. Prevention is relatively easy by use of shoes or some protection from the ground, and education on animal and human waste management and hygiene.
Sources:
1. Siddiqui, AA, Genta, RM, Berk, SL. Strongyloidiasis. Chap 111 in Trop Infectious Diseases - Principles, Practices and
Pathogens. Guerrant, RL, Walker, DH, Weller, PF (eds). Churchhill-Livingstone Elsevier, Philadelphia, 2006. p. 1274.
2. http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Strongyloidiasis.htm
Tungiasis is a disease caused by a parasitic flea (Tunga penetrans). Although rare in the United States, it is found in tropical Africa and is highly prevalent where people live in poverty. About 42% of Nigerian children are infected with tungiasis. This disease affects the feet because this sand flea is a poor jumper and therefore burrows into the skin of the host on the bare foot or toes. Painful swelling and the development of a fibrous cyst follows. It may progress to bacteremia, gangrene, tetanus and death. The major risk factor for developing tungiasis is failure to wear shoes when walking in sand infested with fleas. The primary method of prevention is simply to wear some type of footwear.
Source:
Paul McKinney, MD and L. Clifford McDonald, MD, University of Louisville School of Medicine, EMedicine, April 2006 .
Mosquito-transmitted infections & other insect-related conditions
In all mosquito-related infections, prevention is clearly the most effective way to save lives. This includes education regarding water and standing water sources and use of mosquito nets particularly in young children.
Dengue Fever is a viral infection that is transmitted by the Aedes species of mosquitoes. These mosquitoes can be found in the sub-Saharan region of Africa. First-time infection may produce a flu-like illness. A repeat infection can produce the hemorrhagic fever form of this disease. There is no effective protective immunity from prior infection. In fact, the immune response to Dengue virus appears to result in a permissive response to a second infection—actually facilitating virus infection of cells. Children to age 11 are at highest risk for hemorrhagic disease. There is no known therapy and no known preventive vaccine for this infection.
Source:
Gubler, DJ. Epidemic dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever: a global public health problem in the 21st century. In:
Emerging Infections I. Scheld, WM, Armstrong, D, Hughes, JM, (Eds), ASM Press, Washington DC 1998. p.1
Malaria is an intracellular parasitic infection of the red blood cells caused by Plasmodium species.
Plasmodium falciparum is the most deadly, and with P. vivax, cause the majority of malaria cases in the world. The CDC and WHO estimate between 300-500 million cases of malaria worldwide annually, with up to 2.7 million deaths. The majority of deaths occur in children in endemic areas of the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission is by the Anopheles mosquito. There is marked seasonality to infection, with the worst case occurrence being in the rainy season. During the rainy season, populations in some areas of Africa may receive up to 50-100 infectious mosquito bites per month.
Sources:
1. Filler S, Causer LM, Newmay RD et al. Malaria surveillance—United States 2001. MMWR Surveill Summ 2003; 52:1.
2. Olliaro P, Cattani J, Wirth D. Malaria, the submerged disease. JAMA 1996;275:230.
Loiasis, caused by the Loa loa worm, is transmitted by bites of an infective Chrysops fly and is endemic in Western and Central Africa. This disease is characterized by localized areas of angioedema known as Calabar swellings. These are warm, itchy, or painful swellings that may come and go, often recurring multiple times per year. Worms can survive for more than 10 years and can occasionally be observed crossing the conjunctiva at a rate of about 1 cm per minute.
Source:
Klion AD; Massougbodji A; Sadeler BC; Ottesen EA; Nutman TB, Loiasis in endemic and nonendemic populations:
immunologically mediated differences in clinical presentation. J Infect Dis 1991 Jun;163(6): 1318-25.
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