43 year old Sophia Loots, the foster mother of two, lives in the small mission village of Friemersheim near Great Brak River. She was daignosed with L

---

43 year old Sophia Loots, the foster mother of two, lives in the small mission village of Friemersheim near Great Brak River. She was daignosed with Lymphedema after being stung by a mosquito carrying the filarial larvae in 2006. When the larvae from a mosquito bite enters the lymphatic system, they mature into adult worms in the lymphatic channels, causing severe lymphedema in the arms, legs and genitalia - also known as Lymphostatic Elephantiasis. Too embarrassed to go to hospital she started

---

Size: 3648px × 5208px
Photo credit: © Obie Oberholzer/AfriPics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: africa, cape, elephantiasis, filarial, friemersheim, garden, larvae, loots, lymphedema, lymphostatic, mosquito, route, sophia, south, western