Podoconiosis
Until recently I had never heard of Podoconiosis. It presents in a very similar fashion to the better known Elephantitis or Filariasis, which produces chronic oedema with its accompanying skin changes and limb deformity. Filariasis is mosquito bourne and involves the habitation of a round worm parasite within the lymphatic system. Podoconiosis does not have as clearly a defined pathway from cause to effect and certainly does not involve parasitic invasion. Ten countries across equatorial Africa, Mexico and Sri Lanka have identified Podoconiosis in farming communities where the common link is volcanic soil and farmers going about their work in bare feet. The current theory is that silica in the soil creates micro-cuts in the feet allowing the silica to progress into the skin where a chronic inflammation is established which ultimately and permanently damages the lymphatic system. The shame in all of this … Podoconiosis can be prevented by wearing shoes. If only farmers living in these impoverished communities could afford them.
Data provided by Michaeleen Doucleff and Dr Christine Kihembo April 2017
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/04/10/523044853/the-unexpected-cause-of-this-awful-disease-lay-right-underfoot?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170410