Kajiado, Kilifi, Murang'a, Nakuru and Samburu counties have been identified as having the highest prevalence of jiggers.
A study by researchers from the Kenya Medical Research Institute indicates that 17,423 out of 20,684 children aged eight to 14 years examined in nine counties are infected.
The study was conducted between May 2021 and June 2022 in 184 schools.
According to the study's findings, 3,920 children aged eight to 14 years in Murang'a were found to be infested with jiggers and 3,712 in Nakuru.
“Children with severe tungiasis [jiggers] had a higher impact on their quality of life than those with mild disease when adjusted for age and expressed higher levels of shame, anger, difficulty concentrating in school, sleeping and walking,” the study says.
“Pupils with tungiasis also had lower scores in school exams than uninfected pupils even when adjusted for age, sex, disability, socio-economic status and absenteeism.”
Higher prevalence has also been found to be among boys, the poor and children in public schools.
“Interventions need to focus on economic support, the daily use of soap for foot washing especially among boys and possibly bed net use in an integrated approach to control multiple diseases.”
Another study that sought to understand the prevalence and temporal changes of jiggers in Kilifi placed the prevalence as highest in the Banda ra salama, Ziani, Junju and Chasimba sublocations.
The overall prevalence was six per 1,000 households.
According to the World Health Organization, the poorest people carry the highest burden of jiggers.
WHO notes that jiggers thrive where living conditions are precarious, such as villages located on remote beaches, communities in the rural hinterland and shanty towns.
In resource-poor urban neighbourhoods and rural communities, prevalence may be as high as 60 per cent in the general population and up to 80 per cent in children.
Elderly people and children aged five to 14 years, particularly boys, are at highest risk. People with disabilities are also highly vulnerable to infection.
“In endemic areas, the standard treatment is surgical extraction of burrowed sand fleas, which is usually done by the patients themselves or a caregiver,” WHO says.
Jiggers are caused by sand fleas. The female flea burrows into the skin, mostly of the feet, where it grows 2,000-fold inducing a strong inflammatory response.
Feet are the most common infection point, but infestation can occur in all parts of the body.
