A mysterious skin-worm sickness has hit several villages around Mafikeng in the North West, health officials said on Tuesday.
”We have never experienced anything like this,” said provincial health spokesperson Tebogo Lekgethwane.
”People come to clinics complaining that their body is itching. Within three days small sores develop. A yellow spot then develops from each sore as it gets ripe. Once the sore is expressed a worm comes out of it.”
Lekgethwane said one theory had it that unidentified insects were laying eggs on clothes and that the eggs then penetrated the skin to mature into a worm.
The North West health department warned villages around Mafikeng on Tuesday to report to a clinic if they noticed sores developing on their bodies.
People from villages near Mafikeng have been treated since December last year for the condition.
”During visits to the homes of these people, it was found that dogs were also affected,” said Lekgethwane.
The department of agriculture’s veterinary public health and animal unit had taken specimens of the worms to identify their origin.
The province’s health MEC, Nomonde Rasmeni, said his department would not rest until the source of sickness was determined.
”We have already sent our diseases outbreak team to affected villages to collate information on this recent health hazard. We are also consulting with experts nationwide as this is a new phenomenon in North West,” said Rasmeni.
She advised people in affected villages to iron their clothes, especially underwear, before wearing them. – Sapa