The disease which has affected people in
western Uganda for over 30 years has been
said to be contacted from the volcanic soil by
walking bare foot and not by parasitic worms
as previously thought, according to a new
study published in the American Journal of
Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
Scientists have discovered
that it is volcanic soil and not
parasitic worms causing a
type of elephantiasis in
Kamwenge District is a district
in Western Uganda, reports
the New Vision .
Elephantiasis causes swollen limbs with
sores and great pain. Medical tests
conducted in over 52 people showed no signs
of the filarial worms known to cause the
disease but were found to have a form of
elephantiasis called podoconiosis which is
non-infectious and is triggered by long term
foot exposure to irritating minerals in
volcanic soils.
http://www.ireport-ng.com/2017/04/volcanic-soil-causing-elephantiasis-in.html?m=0