Ten Years of Podoconiosis Research in Ethiopia

Abstract

Podoconiosis (endemic non-filarial elephantiasis) is a non-infectious geochemical disease among barefoot subsistence farmers who have long-term contact with irritant red clay soil of volcanic origins. The disease causes progressive bilateral swelling of the lower legs [1,2]. Previous studies have documented the association between the disease and irritant red clay soils found in areas greater than 1500 metres above sea level, with greater than 1000 mm annual rainfall and average annual temperature of 20uC [1]. The term podoconiosis was coined by Ernest Price, derived from the Greek words podos and konos, which mean foot and dust, respectively, and imply that the disease is caused by exposure of feet to irritant clay soil [1]. Podoconiosis is widely distributed in certain countries on three continents: Africa, South America, and Asia [1]. At least ten African countries have highland areas where the disease is endemic, including Ethiopia, which has the largest number of podoconiosis patients [1,2]. Podoconiosis is one of the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) with the greatest potential for elimination; it is preventable if shoes are consistently worn (for example, the disease has disappeared from North African countries, France, Ireland, and Scotland since use of footwear became the norm [1]), and early stages can be successfully treated using a simple lymphoedema regimen (Figure 1).