“What is most serious about Buruli ulcer is not linked to the mortality rate [estimated two percent, WHO], but the disease’s aftermath, ” said Yves Bargui, the head of a Buruli ulcer testing and treatment in Lalo, 100km west of Benin’s economic capital Cotonou.
In addition to painful disfiguring skin lesions, if the infection reaches the bones, it can cause permanent deformity. “What is important for us is early detection,” said Bargui. “If we can diagnose it early, then there is no need for surgery.”
More on Buruli |
WHO fact page |
Global Buruli Ulcer Initiative |
BENIN: Flesh-eating Buruli ulcer ‘neglected disease’ spreads |
COTE D'IVOIRE: Little known Buruli ulcer disease on the rise |
The head of National Buruli Control Programme in Côte d’Ivoire, one of the most heavily-affected countries, told IRIN more money and government support is needed to improve prevention. “Researchers’ initiatives alone will not be enough. Without a stronger political will than we have now, we will never conquer [this disease],” said Didier Yao Koffi.
More than 60 years after the infection was first identified and analysed in Australia, researchers told IRIN a lack of funds limit research. According to the Australia-based George Institute for International Health, donors and governments invested US$2.4 million for Buruli ulcer research and vaccine development in 2007, which was less than 0.1 percent of spending on neglected disease research worldwide.
Australian scientist Tim Stinear said Buruli ulcer research is sorely lacking. “Sixty years later, we still do not know where the bacterium is found or its mode of transmission.”
..Sixty years later, we still do not know where the bacterium is found or its mode of transmission.. |
In Côte d'Ivoire approximately 24,000 cases were recorded from 1978 to 2006; in Benin nearly 7,000 cases between 1989 and 2006; and in Ghana more than 11,000 cases since 1993, according to WHO.
But the health agency has written that given scant research, poor diagnostics and lack of information on the disease’s spread, it is most likely underreported.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions