Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Buruli ulcer (/ b ə ˈ r uː l i /) [2] is an infectious disease characterized by the development of painless open wounds. The disease is limited to certain areas of the world, with most cases occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and Australia.
Buruli ulcer is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans. [34] It is related to the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy. Mycobacterium ulcerans produces a toxin, mycolactone, that destroys tissue. [34] The prevalence of Buruli ulcer is unknown. [18] The risk of mortality is low, although secondary infections can be lethal. [35]
English: A map of Africa with shading representing the number of cases of Buruli ulcer in 2018, according to the World Health Organization's Global Health Observatory data repository. Shading is in four levels: 1-150 cases - Yellow 151-300 cases - Orange 301-450 cases - Light red 451+ - Dark red (applies only to Ghana's 630 cases).
The Global Buruli Ulcer Initiative (GBUI) is a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to coordinate global efforts to control Buruli ulcer, [1] an infectious disease characterized by the development of painless open wounds. [2]
Hospitals in Ghana The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) also known as GEE after the name of its contractors Messrs. GEE Walter & Slater [ 2 ] in Kumasi, Ashanti Region , Ghana, is the second-largest hospital in Ghana, [ 3 ] and the only tertiary health institution in the Ashanti Region .
This grows larger over days to weeks, forming an open ulcer (biopsy images pictured). Deep ulcers can cause scarring of muscles and tendons, resulting in permanent disability. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends treating Buruli ulcer with a combination of the antibiotics rifampicin and clarithromycin. Regular cleaning and dressing of ...
The bacteria can infect humans and some other animals, causing persistent open wounds called Buruli ulcer. M. ulcerans is closely related to Mycobacterium marinum , from which it evolved around one million years ago, and more distantly to the mycobacteria which cause tuberculosis and leprosy .
Mycolactone is a polyketide-derived macrolide produced and secreted by a group of very closely related pathogenic mycobacteria species including M. ulcerans, M. liflandii (an unofficial designation), M. pseudoshottsii, and some strains of M. marinum.