MP petitions House over elephantiasis

Kamwenge District Woman MP Dorothy Nshaija has run to Parliament seeking government intervention against elephantiasis.
The MP told Parliament yesterday that the disease has ravaged a greater part of the district, with the number of victims rising from 56 in 2012 to 273 today.

“All efforts to reach out to the Ministry of Health for help have fallen on deaf ears,” Ms Nshaija said.
The MP said their only hope now lies in Parliament.
“The government has not given us any response, I don’t know why,” she said.
“If you happen to go there [Kamwenge], the situation is alarming, and I would request for a positive response,” she added.
The MP said she has raised the matter since the first instance in 2012, but there has been no response.

So far, the legislator said, 12 people have succumbed to the disease, yet more continue to get infected.
However, none of the line ministers for Health was present at the time the MP presented the matter.
The Speaker, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, instructed the Minister of Health, Dr Ruth Aceng, to respond to the matter by Wednesday next week.
Ms Nshaija also said the disease, which previously attacked older generations, has now shifted to children below 15 years of age.

About Elephantiasis
The disease. Elephantiasis or Lymphatic filariasis is a human disease caused by parasitic worms known as filarial worms, usually spread through mosquito bites.
In most cases, the disease has no symptoms, but in extreme cases, patients develop severe swelling in the arms, legs, breasts, or genitals, causing pain, severe disability and social stigma.

The World Health Organisation describes the disease as a largely neglected tropical disease, with close to 900 million people in 52 countries on the verge of infection.
The global health body also reports that “in 2000, more than 120 million people were infected, with about 40 million disfigured and incapacitated by the disease.”

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