Michelle Leroux, a Canadian ex-pat, kindly let us join her randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial of ketoconazole for 28 days in treating cutaneous leishmaniasis. For this we went to two villages, Kampi Turkana and Gitare, to enroll patients, draw LFT's and HIV, distribute medications, and record findings. This study included a Kenyan dermatologist, a clinical officer, Michelle, and ourselves. Our travels really took us into the bush as we saw the most rural parts of Kenya. For many, we were the first white persons (yes, they included Arif as being white as well) they had ever seen. The need for water (it was deep into the dry season) and lack of plumbing certainly did not dampen their spirits as Kenyans will always remain some of the nicest people we have ever met. We certainly learned a lot - mostly having to do nothing with medicine.
P.S. "Kampi" means "place" in the Turkana language and "Turkana" is the name of the tribe that mostly inhabits the northern parts of Kenya. They had been displaced in the tribal clashes of December 2007 and were waiting for government authorization to permanently live on this land.
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