Group Brings Hope to Nigerians Disfigured by Swollen Limbs

27 Nov. 2007

Swathed in a loose-fitting tunic conservatively hiding his deformed right leg, 38-year-old Hamisu Isa pulls up a white plastic chair to join a group of his fellow Nigerians under two mango trees in the city of Jos.
 
"There is no cure, but there is hope," Carter Center lymphatic filariasis expert John Umaru told the group. "If you keep your leg clean and treat cuts for infection, the swelling will not increase and may even decrease."
 
Isa is a member of a support group in which people suffering from the disease lymphatic filariasis come together to discuss the physical challenges and social stigma of the disfiguring condition that causes grotesque swelling of legs and genitals. Caused by the bite of a mosquito, the parasitic disease not only disfigures the body but also causes incapacitating fevers. The support group that Umaru leads is among the first of its kind. Here, participants learn about transmission and prevention of lymphatic filariasis and discuss techniques for preventing skin infections, such as proper leg washing.
 
The disease can be prevented and managed through health education and annual single-dose combinations of oral medicines—albendazole donated by GlaxoSmithKline and Mectizan® donated by Merck & Co., Inc.
 
During the first few meetings of the Carter Center-assisted support group, Isa sat quietly on his chair and listened to other members describe their symptoms, challenges, successes, and hopes. For years, he had suffered in silence from the disease's severest form, elephantiasis. The disease ripples beyond the individual, forcing victims to rely on the support of loved ones as effects often make it difficult and sometimes impossible for them to farm and carry out other basic daily tasks of living.
 
After he had been in the group for awhile, Isa began to share his own experiences with his peers. He said that people—including his own family—would shun him because the infection in his leg created a bad odor. By taking proper care of his leg, he was able to stop the sores, and the swelling decreased. As his health improved, he found a job selling secondhand clothing at the market. In the past, the disease-related fevers kept him from holding a job or completing seemingly simple tasks.
 
"Hamisu's story shows other people that someday they can be better, too," said Umaru.
 
Today, Isa's life has turned around. His skin looks clean, and, because he is feeling better, Isa recently earned a teaching certificate and is teaching mathematics and English at a local elementary school a few times a week and working in the market part time.
 
And now Isa can serve as an inspiration to new members of the support group. He may even recognize shades of his former self in people such as Helen, a distraught 20-year-old with severe elephantiasis who avoids eye contact and does not speak above a whisper.

Meet Other Members of the LF Support Group