Incidences and Treatments for Buruli Ulcer

Buruli ulcer is a bacterial disease, alternatively called Bairnsdale ulcer, Searls ulcer, or Daintree ulcer. The tropical disease causes blood clots on the skin and, when untreated, leads to severe ulceration. The infectious disease caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium ulcerans. It is the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy.The necrotizing disease occurs in parts of West Africa,Australia and Southeast Asia, affecting around 5,000 people each year. Children aged under 15 are the most commonly infected demographic group and the region with the highest concentration of infections is, currently, Cote d'Ivoire.

Until the late 1990s, when World Health Organization (WHO) programs began, the disease was a 'neglected disease'.The current treatment option primarily involves courses of antibiotics. More serious or untreatable cases require surgical intervention. To improve current treatment regimes, scientists are investigating alternative approaches; this article assesses some of these approaches alongside current practices.

Infection with the M. ulcerans bacterium leads to skin nodules forming on the skin and within subcutaneous tissues. When unchecked these nodules and plaques lead to ulceration, of a characteristic white-yellowcoloration. This can extend to 15% of the skin surface. If the ulcer progresses skin is lost to the extent that bone is affected. Unlike comparable diseases there is an absence of an acute inflammatory response.