Shielding future generations from elephantiasis

Burkina Faso health workers are out in force nationwide to distribute medicine and information in a bid to combat elephantiasis, an often debilitating disorder the health ministry says strikes about one million people in the West African country. Health Minister Alain Bedouma Yoda said in launching the campaign that the country must wipe out the disease “to shield future generations from the socio-economic impact of this scourge.” Also called lymphatic filariasis, the parasitic illness - transmitted by mosquito - damages lymphatic vessels leading to excessive enlargement of the affected area, usually limbs. It can also affect the genitals and breasts. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the disease can cause severe physical and psychological disability, often depriving victims of their normal working life. Victims are often stigmatised as well, WHO says, as shame and taboo are often associated with the disfiguring illness. In some of Burkina Faso’s 13 regions the rate of infection is as high as 60 percent, according to a 2000 national study. With free medicines from pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Merck, and 200 million CFA francs (US $368,000) from the Burkina government, the health ministry launched its treatment campaign earlier this month, sending over 15,000 health workers and volunteer distributors around the country. The campaign also helps do away with myths linked to the disease, which some think is caused by sorcery. Others look askance at free medicine from foreign countries. The health ministry is handing out albendazole and ivermectin, which in combination are 99 percent effective in removing the parasitic worm’s larvae from the blood for a full year, according to WHO. Denise Compaore, a resident of the capital, Ouagadougou, welcomes the government’s initiative. “I am very happy with this action by the health ministry, which shows the attention our president gives to the health of the population,” she said, standing in front of her home with her free medicines in hand. Most welcome the programme like Compaore. But a few recipients are reticent. Student Victor Kouraogo told IRIN, “As for me, I’m not very interested in these products, because as we saw recently there are debates over the effectiveness of free medicines. The example of the polio vaccine in Nigeria is clear.” He added: “Some think these medicines have ingredients that cause sterility.” Leontine Yonli, one of the health agents distributing medicines in schools and marketplaces, says she occasionally comes up against such attitudes. “The main difficulty of our work is the categorical refusal of some people to take the medicines,” she said, adding that the health ministry notes all refusals to factor the information in to later assessments of the project’s effectiveness. Sibiri Goama Ouedraogo, who has had elephantiasis for 10 years, initially thought no medicine could help him because his disease was the result of a hex. But with the information from health officials about its causes, and methods to prevent and treat it, he has changed his view, as have his friends who also thought the illness was a curse. Ouedraogo says he used to be ashamed to go out in public with his swollen foot. “But today, it’s better - I’m no longer ashamed. And I follow the advice of the doctor to clean my foot often and exercise it.” A number of organisations, notably WHO and the NGO Handicap International, are working alongside the government to tackle the disease. One-third of the 120 million people in the world infected with lymphatic filariasis are in Africa, WHO says.