Blood sucking insects scatter in Africa

A blood-sucking bug caused a disease with symptoms that only appeared in horror movies that sickened more than 20,000 Ugandans within two months, of which at least 20 victims died.

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AP said the culprits are tiny insects called Tunga penetrans . They often invade the human body from the legs. They suck blood, grow and lay hundreds of eggs. The presence of bugs causes many parts of the human body - such as lips, buttocks and even eyelids - to become necrotic.

James Kakooza, Uganada Health Minister, said that the Tunga penetrans beetles can kill children easily and cause premature death in adults who are suffering from other diseases. Most victims, especially the elderly, cannot travel or work.

' This is a disease that we are fighting against and I believe we will destroy the dangerous bugs in the future ,' Kakooza said.

Tunga penetrans reproduce in dirty and dusty places. They exist in many parts of Latin America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan sub-regions of South Africa. Health workers in Uganda are conducting propaganda campaigns in 12 districts where people are attacked by bugs to improve people's awareness of hygiene.

' We told people that they should use medical soap to prevent the infestation. They can also pour gasoline, oil and asphalt into areas with bugs to kill them , 'Kakooza said.

Busoga region - 150 km east of Uganda's capital Kampala - is the place where most people are attacked by bugs. Other cases were discovered in the central region, nearly 70 km from Kampala city. That fact makes Ugandan public worries that beetles will spread throughout the country.

Some scientists believe that migrants from India brought Tunga penetrans when they arrived in Uganda and some other countries in East Africa in the 19th century to build a railway from Kenya's Mombasa port to the city. Kampala.

After a while, the beetles attack local citizens. An adventurer who had been to Africa in the early 20th century said he saw people being attacked by Tunga beetles crawling on the slopes of Kilimanjaro volcano in Tanzania with four limbs and they screamed relentlessly in pain. Urban governments at the time eradicated the bugs that caused them to reappear in areas with poor sanitation. When infected, some people in rural areas thought that they were possessed by demons and waited for death rather than seeking treatment.

' I was sucked into the body by beetles three years ago. My two children died of bugs. A neighbor brought bugs to my house because he wanted to rob us of the land , 'said Dakaba Kaala, a 60-year-old woman in rural Uganda.

Simon Wanjala , a Ugandan health official, said that many families were completely killed by the Tunga penetrans . The government has subsidized one million USD to prevent disease. Treatment includes pushing bugs out of the body or applying medicine.

A previous study in Nigeria showed that raising pigs, leaving sand or clay in the house, and resting in the outdoors are factors that increase the risk of bugs sucking blood into the body. Wearing closed shoes and spraying household pesticides are two ways to prevent bugs.