{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,31]],"date-time":"2026-08-31T10:11:09Z","timestamp":1788171069968,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":60,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,30]],"date-time":"2023-03-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1680134400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Else Kr\u00f6ner-Fresenius Foundation (EKFS)"},{"name":"German Doctors e.V."}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Neglected tropical diseases are known to be highly stigmatized conditions. This study investigates tungiasis-related stigma and control practices in the impoverished Napak District in rural northeastern Uganda, where tungiasis is hyperendemic and effective treatment is unavailable. We conducted a questionnaire survey with the main household caretakers (n = 1329) in 17 villages and examined them for tungiasis. The prevalence of tungiasis among our respondents was 61.0%. Questionnaire responses showed that tungiasis was perceived as a potentially serious and debilitating condition and that tungiasis-related stigma and embarrassment were common. Among the respondents, 42.0% expressed judging attitudes, associating tungiasis with laziness, carelessness, and dirtiness, and 36.3% showed compassionate attitudes towards people with tungiasis. Questionnaire responses further indicated that people made an effort to keep their feet and house floors clean (important tungiasis prevention measures), but lack of water was a common problem in the area. The most frequent local treatment practices were hazardous manual extraction of sand fleas with sharp instruments and application of various and sometimes toxic substances. Reliable access to safe and effective treatment and water are therefore key to reducing the need for dangerous treatment attempts and breaking the vicious cycle of tungiasis stigma in this setting marked by poverty.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed8040206","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,30]],"date-time":"2023-03-30T03:17:35Z","timestamp":1680146255000},"page":"206","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":15,"title":["Tungiasis Stigma and Control Practices in a Hyperendemic Region in Northeastern Uganda"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0778-0869","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hannah","family":"McNeilly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Edinburgh Medical School: Biomedical Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Marlene","family":"Thielecke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Charit\u00e9 Center for Global Health, Institute of International Health, Charit\u00e9 University Medicine, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francis","family":"Mutebi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Resources, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala P.O. Box 7062, Uganda"},{"name":"Innovations for Tropical Disease Elimination (IFOTRODE), Kampala P.O. Box 24461, Uganda"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mike","family":"Banalyaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Innovations for Tropical Disease Elimination (IFOTRODE), Kampala P.O. Box 24461, Uganda"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3205-3513","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Felix","family":"Reichert","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, 13353 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susanne","family":"Wiese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Charit\u00e9 University Medicine, 12203 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8627-5640","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hermann","family":"Feldmeier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Charit\u00e9 University Medicine, 12203 Berlin, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,3,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Feldmeier, H., Heukelbach, J., Ugbomoiko, U.S., Sentongo, E., Mbabazi, P., von Samson-Himmelstjerna, G., Krantz, I., and The International Expert Group for Tungiasis (2014). 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