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Murang’a: Botfly infestation causes havoc to residents

Sunday, August 9th, 2020 17:04 | By
Children invested with bot fly at Murang'a. The locals have called for the relocation of the dumpsite.

Wangari Njuguna and Njange Maina

Residents of Karii and Kandundu villages in Kiharu Murang’a want the County Government to relocate a nearby dumpsite following the infestation of botflies.

The residents suspect that the dumpsite has been the breeding ground for the flies and they fear that their health could be at risk.

Julius Irungu, one of the residents said they are going through a lot of pain when removing the maggots from their bodies with little children bearing the brunt of the invasion.

He said he has removed eight larvae from his aging father’s body terming it as a horrible ordeal.

“When we visited the hospital we were only given a cream to apply on the wound left after removing the maggot,” he said.

“Even our livestock have not been spared of the menace and this place is becoming unbearable to stay” he remarked.

He said if the dumpsite cannot be relocated immediately, the public health officers should fumigate the area to kill the flies.

Susan Wangari, a mother of three now says she fear for the health of her children saying the flies are multiplying very fast and their invasion could lead to spreading of more diseases.

“The health of our children could be at a major risk because we don’t know what other diseases the flies could transmit,” she said.

She said once the fly bites, one gets itchy pimples that grow big and become painful and can easily be confused with a boil.

“You can even feel the maggot moving under the skin and this is really disturbing," she added.

This is not the first time the resident are raising concern over the dumpsite and they want a swift action taken before things get out of hand.

“For three years we have been pleading with the County to relocate the dumpsite to another place to alleviate the suffering it is causing us but nothing has been done about it" said Wangari.

Efforts to reach public health officials for comments were futile.

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