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The Pan African Medical Journal Aug 2013Buruli ulcer (BU) is a cutaneous neglected tropical disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Synthesizing the evidence on their efficacy of antibiotic in the management... (Review)
Review
Buruli ulcer (BU) is a cutaneous neglected tropical disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Synthesizing the evidence on their efficacy of antibiotic in the management of BU can help to better define their roles, identify weaknesses and inform clinicians on relevant measures than can be used to control BU. Our objectives is to assess the clinical efficacy of Rifampicin-Streptomycin given for 8 weeks of treatment of early M. ulcerans infection. We searched the following electronic databases from January 2005 to July 2012: Medline, EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database), The Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), WHOLIS (World Health Organization Library Database), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences) and contacted experts in the field. There were no restrictions to language or publication status. All study designs that could provide the information we sought for were eligible provided the studies were conducted in the third world. Critical appraisal of all identified citations was done independently by three authors to establish the possible relevance of the articles for inclusion in the review. Of the 115 studies, 09 papers met the inclusion criteria. The duration of treatment ranged from 8 to 48 weeks depending on the severity. Oral chemotherapy alone obtained a curative rate of 50%. The "dual" mode of treatment (surgery + chemotherapy) reduced hospital admission period from 90 to 39.8 days, that's to 44.2%. This treatment for early stages could therefore replace surgery and in severe cases, is an indispensable aid before surgery. These results confirmed that the daily administration of Rifampicin and Streptomycin is an effective treatment for M. ulcerans infection in an early stage. Subsequent systematic reviews should be conducted to determine if antibiotics could heal injuries without resorting to surgery and to compare different treatment durations.
Topics: Administration, Oral; Drug Therapy, Combination; Hospitalization; Humans; Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous; Mycobacterium ulcerans; Rifampin; Streptomycin; Surgical Procedures, Operative; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 24396561
DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2013.15.155.2341 -
The Pan African Medical Journal 2013Buruli ulcer (BU) is a cutaneous neglected tropical disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Participation of Community Health Workers (CHWs) is an integral part of the... (Review)
Review
UNLABELLED
Buruli ulcer (BU) is a cutaneous neglected tropical disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Participation of Community Health Workers (CHWs) is an integral part of the management of BU, yet their impact has not been systematically evaluated in sub-Saharan Africa.
METHODS
Our objectives were to summarize the evidence on the impact of CHWs on the control of BU in sub-Saharan Africa by looking at their recruitment, training, non-governmental support and performance. We searched the following electronic databases from January 1998 to July 2012: Medline, EMBASE (Excerpta Medica Database), The Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), WHOLIS (World Health Organization Library Database), LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences) and contacted experts in the field. There were no restrictions to language or publication status. All study designs that could provide the information we sought were eligible, provided the studies were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. Critical appraisal of all identified citations was done independently by two authors to establish the possible relevance of the articles for inclusion in the review. Of 195 hits, 17 papers met the inclusion criteria. For the management of Buruli Ulcer, CHWs are often recruited from the communities they will serve. Communities play a role in CHW selection. Larger numbers of CHWs are needed in order to improve the detection and management of cases. One of the major obstacles to the control of BU is inadequate and poorly- equipped health facilities in the affected areas. Evidence from this review suggests that CHW programmes can have large impacts on the control of BU in sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale rigorous studies, including RCTs, are needed to assess whether the CHWs programs promote equity and access.
Topics: Africa South of the Sahara; Buruli Ulcer; Community Health Services; Community Health Workers; Humans; Mycobacterium ulcerans; Neglected Diseases; Workforce
PubMed: 24009795
DOI: 10.11604/pamj.2013.15.19.1991 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Dec 2010Buruli ulcer is a neglected emerging disease that has recently been reported in some countries as the second most frequent mycobacterial disease in humans after... (Review)
Review
Buruli ulcer is a neglected emerging disease that has recently been reported in some countries as the second most frequent mycobacterial disease in humans after tuberculosis. Cases have been reported from at least 32 countries in Africa (mainly west), Australia, Southeast Asia, China, Central and South America, and the Western Pacific. Large lesions often result in scarring, contractual deformities, amputations, and disabilities, and in Africa, most cases of the disease occur in children between the ages of 4-15 years. This environmental mycobacterium, Mycobacterium ulcerans, is found in communities associated with rivers, swamps, wetlands, and human-linked changes in the aquatic environment, particularly those created as a result of environmental disturbance such as deforestation, dam construction, and agriculture. Buruli ulcer disease is often referred to as the "mysterious disease" because the mode of transmission remains unclear, although several hypotheses have been proposed. The above review reveals that various routes of transmission may occur, varying amongst epidemiological setting and geographic region, and that there may be some role for living agents as reservoirs and as vectors of M. ulcerans, in particular aquatic insects, adult mosquitoes or other biting arthropods. We discuss traditional and non-traditional methods for indicting the roles of living agents as biologically significant reservoirs and/or vectors of pathogens, and suggest an intellectual framework for establishing criteria for transmission. The application of these criteria to the transmission of M. ulcerans presents a significant challenge.
Topics: Age Factors; Animals; Buruli Ulcer; Communicable Diseases, Emerging; Disease Reservoirs; Disease Vectors; Ecosystem; Environmental Microbiology; Humans; Mycobacterium ulcerans
PubMed: 21179505
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000911