Nature October 12, 2023
The psychological burden of disability and stigma has been overlooked, to the detriment of those affected and their carers.
Some people tell Jidda Mohammad Assakin that he has been cursed. Until he was forced to retire, he was a superintendent in the Nigeria Customs Service. Maybe he made an enemy there, people say. The truth is simpler: he had the misfortune to be bitten by a mosquito.
Part of Nature Outlook: Neglected tropical diseases
The mosquito in question was carrying the larvae of Filarioidea worms. The parasites developed inside his lymphatic vessels, weakened his immune system and caused his right leg to swell. More than 30 years later, his life is still shaped by lymphatic filariasis.
Drugs can...
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