A tropical flea, also called a jigger, that burrows into skin especially on the feet and causes painful infections.
From Spanish 'chigua' or Portuguese 'chigoe,' ultimately from Taíno or African languages encountered during colonial expansion in the Caribbean and tropics. The word spread with colonial trade.
Chigoes were more medically serious than chiggers—they could cause severe infections and even gangrene, and colonial soldiers suffered horrific chigoe infestations; the parasite became so notorious that it shaped military decisions about where troops could be stationed.
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