The ‘Dinga Dinga’ illness mainly affects women and girls, health officials have said
Around 300 people have been infected with a mysterious ‘dancing’ disease in the East African nation of Uganda, health officials have said.
Locals call the illness ‘Dinga Dinga,’ which translates as ‘shaking like dancing’, the Daily Monitor reported on Friday. The name comes from the fact that the symptoms include fever and shaking which leads to difficulties in walking, it said.
For unknown reasons, those affected by the illness, which only became known to the health authorities last year, are mainly women and girls, according to health officials.
The outbreak, which started several months ago, is confined to the southwestern Bundibugyo District, which borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). No cases have been reported in other areas, the outlet said.
District Health Officer Kiyita Christopher told the Daily Monitor that there have so far been no deaths from Dinga Dinga.
He said the disease is mostly self-healing, adding that in difficult cases, the doctors successfully tackled it with antibiotics.
However, Christopher warned locals against turning to traditional medicine to cure the sickness.
“There is no scientific evidence that herbal medicine can treat this disease. We are using specific treatments, and patients usually recover within a week. I urge locals to seek treatment from health facilities within the district,” he stressed.
An 18-year-old girl said “she felt weak and paralyzed” after contracting Dinga Dinga.
“My body [was] shaking uncontrollably whenever I tried to walk. It was very disturbing. I was taken to Bundibugyo hospital for treatment, and thank God, I am now fine,” she said.
Samples from those infected have been taken in order to be sent to laboratories operated by Uranda’s Health Ministry for further analysts of the disease, according to the report.
