Nairobi, May 11 -- For Catherine Njeri, the morning does not begin with the aroma of coffee, but with the metallic rattle of a pill dispenser. By 6 am, she has taken two tablets to protect her kidneys from her own blood pressure. By 10 am, four more follow: steroids and immunosuppressants to stop her immune system from attacking her kidneys. By day's end, she has swallowed about fifteen pills.

Njeri is one of thousands of Kenyans living with systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks its own healthy tissue.

The tragedy of lupus, experts say, often lies in its camouflage. Medical literature calls lupus "The Great Imitator" because its symptoms, from fatigue and joint pain to organ inflammation, mimic ...