Unwanted Souvenir
If you have seen my refrigerator at home, you know I like collecting magnets as souvenirs when I travel. You might have seen my magnet of the Eiffel Tower from Paris, Big Ben from London, the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, the dolphins from Cancun, La Sagrada Familia from Barcelona, the Colosseum from Rome, or the Texas flag that says, “Don’t Mess With Texas.”
My refrigerator in Uganda has only two magnets so far – the animals of Uganda (zebra, giraffe, elephant, gorilla, Uganda crane) and the coastline of Ghana (where Jim visited in March). I have picked up other souvenirs in Uganda, like jewelry made of paper beads, wood carvings, pictures made of banana leaves, and other unique items.
But there is one souvenir that I picked up in the Nile River that was unwanted . . . a parasitic disease called Bilharzia (also known as Schistosomiasis in the U.S.). Bilharzia is caused by a little parasitic worm that is carried by freshwater snails that are commonly found in the Nile. The worm’s larvae can enter your skin, feed off your blood, and lay eggs in your body, which will later be passed. Left untreated, it can cause organ damage and eventually death.
Bilharzia worms: female lives inside male while laying eggs - up to 300 per day.
Bilharzia ranks as the second most significant human parasitic disease behind malaria in terms of socio-economic and public health importance in tropical and subtropical areas. Of the more than 207 million people that are infected worldwide, 85% live in Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa it kills 280,000 people each year. Many people in Uganda have been infected with the parasite, particularly those who live near the Nile River.
Before deciding to go white water rafting in the Nile in March, I asked some American friends in Uganda about their experience. One friend said he got Bilharzia both times he went in the Nile, but no one else in his family got it. Another friend said he had been in the Nile several times and had never got it. They both said it wasn’t a big deal if you get Bilharzia because you just take the pills 6 – 8 weeks after exposure and you feel better within a day or two. They recommended that we take the pills even if we didn’t have symptoms because if you are not infected, the pills don’t make you feel bad, but if you are infected, the pills make you feel horrible for a couple of days, but then you are well. Everyone agreed white water rafting in the Nile was worth the risk of getting Bilharzia.
Since I had never gone white water rafting and didn’t want to miss the unique experience of rafting in the Nile, I agreed to go with our group of 10 (my family plus the Gregston family). We all had a great time, even Jill who was thrown out of the raft at one of the rapids. But I started wondering if one or more of us would end up with Bilharzia.
White water rafting in Nile River (not actually us, but we looked just like this!)
By mid-April, a few weeks after our Nile trip, I started to feel really tired and had a general sense of malaise. It didn’t seem to matter how much sleep I got, I was still tired. I could take a three hour nap in the middle of the day and would be ready for bed shortly after dinner. I couldn’t seem to shake a feeling of depression – which I had never before experienced. I tried to justify these feelings. Maybe I was just feeling homesick. But other symptoms started, like pains in my abdomen. And I realized that the itchy rash on my lower back, which I assumed would go away on its own, had been there for weeks. Thanks to the CDC website and Wikipedia, I was able to diagnose myself as having Bilharzia. I didn’t want to waste time going to have a blood test to confirm. I just wanted to take the pills and feel better.
Through my research, I found out that the medication I needed to take was called praziquantel. I went to the local pharmacy and told the guy in the white coat behind the glass window that I needed praziquantel for Bilharzia. Fortunately I knew my weight in kilograms, so he was able to give me the correct dose. When he handed me an envelope with four huge pills, I asked if I was supposed to take them all at once. He smiled and said yes, and to take them after dinner. Since I was already there, I got the pills for the rest of the family, just in case they needed them in the near future. The total cost for our family of five was 17,000 shillings (less than $7). Well worth the money! In the U.S., we would have paid $20 each just to talk to a doctor, then we would have needed a blood test to see if we had the disease, then we would have paid at least $10 each for the medication, if we could find a pharmacy that had it. So my advice to anyone who swims or rafts in the Nile is to buy some praziquantel before you go back home, just in case.
Praziquantel pills: remedy for Bilharzia
Exactly six weeks after rafting in the Nile, I gladly took all the pills after dinner, even though they smelled horrible. I began to feel dizzy almost immediately, so I went to bed. I slept in the next morning, and felt so much better when I woke up. I was prepared to feel bad that day, but I just kept feeling better and better. By the next day, I was feeling almost completely well. It was like a weight had been lifted off me.
Did I really have Bilharzia? Was it just psychosomatic? Did I just feel better because I thought the pills would make me better? I don’t really care. I’m just glad I’m back to normal.
By the way, in Twin Family style, my twin Jill also got Bilharzia and took the pills. She is glad to be back to normal too. Most of the rest of our group also took the pills, just in case.
Magnets are fun reminders of the places I’ve been and the things I’ve experienced. I do not need nor want a magnet of Bilharzia to remind me of the experience.
Between the picture and your description, this sounds just AWFUL! I think if I ever go to Uganda, I’ll skip the water rafting experience. But am sure happy you all are doing well now.
Love, Becky
Oh my goodness! Now that you have been through this, was the rafting trip worth it?
Great story! I bet the rafting was fun! I will make sure to be prepared!
Blessings to all of you!
Oh my! You seem so good humored about it. I’m guessing a little time and some medication have helped there.
Good job with beans and rice for 27!
Miss you guys. Continuing to think about you and pray for you all and your work.
Yuuk! When did you go on the Nile trip? How was your safari? I’m so glad you are feeling better. Love, Mom
Jolineeeeeeeeeeen! Oh my Gooooooooood! I”M SO GLAD YOU ARE DOING FINE!!!! love and Light for all of you. Vivian.
Normally I do not learn article on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very forced me to take a look at and do it! Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, quite nice article.
Thank you for your article. I went river rafting in jinja on the Nile and had a traumatizing experience. I got thrown from the raft and got trapped under a waterfall and nearly drowned. So my experience was not the greatest. With having that happen, I Ingested a ton of water and am now just realizing after finally putting the pieces together that my issues I have been having are probably from my experience in the Nile river.
It has been almost 6 months since that river trip and I have been getting worse. I cannot get enough sleep, I am beyond exhausted all the time. I have had digestive issues in the past, so I just chalked it up to me not eating great and drinking a lot while we were in Africa. But my stomach has been getting worse, everything I eat I feel stomach pain and terrible bloating. I have not gotten any rashes. I called a clinic here in Canada to see how much it would cost to get tested. $700!!!!!! So I am hoping my doctor can refer someone to me and get this all straightened out. I wonder if u am too far gone for taking those pills.
Anyways, thank you for your article, it makes me feel like I’m not going crazy with some unexplained tiredness.