Podo is grotesque. In severe cases, the victim’s feet appear to be turning into cauliflower\u201d\u201dhorrible, rotting cauliflower\u201d\u201dor something that grows under a rock in 20 feet of water. These are nightmare feet, seeming to bubble and melt, producing unbearable odors.<\/p>\n
An estimated one million Ethiopians suffer from podo, as do perhaps three million more, mostly Africans. In affected areas\u201d\u201dtypically mountains with red volcanic soil\u201d\u201d1 out of every 20 people have it. A village of 2,000 will have 100 victims, permanently disabled. In certain areas of Ethiopia, the podo infection rate surpasses that of HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n
Though prevalent and severe, the disease was not identified until 35 years ago. Doctors had been diagnosing the symptoms as infectious elephantiasis until a Christian doctor named Ewart Price realized that the diagnosis didn’t fit.<\/p>\n