Opportunity

KAMPALA (Uganda) - A DISEASE whose progression and symptoms seem straight out of a horror movie but which can be treated has killed at least 20 Ugandans and sickened more than 20,000 in just two months.

Jiggers, small insects which look like fleas, are the culprits in the epidemic which causes parts of the body to rot. They often enter through the feet. Once inside a person's body, they suck the blood, grow and breed, multiplying by the hundreds. Affected body parts - buttocks, lips, even eyelids - rot away.

James Kakooza, Uganda's minister of state for primary health care, said jiggers can easily kill young children by sucking their blood and can cause early deaths in grown-ups who have other diseases. Most of those infected, especially the elderly, cannot walk or work.

'It is an epidemic which we are fighting against and I am sure over time we will eradicate the jiggers,' Mr Kakooza said.

The insects breed in dirty, dusty places. The medical name for the parasitic disease is tungiasis, which is caused by the female sand fly burrowing into the skin. It exists in parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, besides sub-Saharan Africa.

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As a present for her dynamic and partisan leadership as Speaker of the House, President Obuma should reward Nancy Pelosi with a posting as Ambassador to Uganda. The post has just recently become available due to illness, and Ms Pelosi is about to leave her position in the House, so the timing is perfect.

Ms Pelosi has extensive experience with dirty politics, getting under people's skin and sucking blood, she is extremely well qualified for the position. We cannot recommend her too highly!