Ka Dinga Pepo/Ka Denga Pepo/Ka-Dinga Pepo/Kadinga Pepo

Ka Dinga Pepo is a phenomenon from Zanzibar. The term is Swahili with “ka” meaning ‘a form of,’ “Dinga” meaning a cramp-like seizure, and “Pepo” referring to an evil spirit or plague. The term refers to a spiritual attack causing sickness. The term was also for the origin of the name for ‘dengue fever’ in 1800.

Citations:

Africanderisms: A Glossary of South African Colloquial Words and Phrases and of Place and Other Names. United Kingdom, Longmans, Green and Company, 1913.

Dobson, Mary. Murderous Contagion: A Human History of Disease. United Kingdom, Hachette Book Group, 2015.

Fabes, Stephen. Signs of Life: A Doctor’s Journey to the Ends Of The Earth. United States, Pegasus Books, 2020.

The Flaviviruses: Detection, Diagnosis and Vaccine Development. Netherlands, Elsevier Science, 2003.

Ramamurthy, V S, et al. Art And Science Of Managing Public Risks. Singapore, World Scientific Publishing Company, 2022.

Spiegl, Fritz. Fritz Spiegl’s Sick Notes: An Alphabetical Browsing-Book of Derivatives, Abbreviations, Mnemonics and Slang for Amusement and Edification of Medics, Nurses, Patients and Hypochondriacs. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 1996.