Posts Tagged ‘buruli ulcer’

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Good News For Buruli Ulcer

August 11th, 2010

By: Alanna Shaikh

I like good news, and this week has sure been short on it. Today, for example – we have added massive landslides in China to the floods in Pakistan and the forest fires in Russia. We could all use a good success story with interesting implications and – hey – I’ve got one:

The Stop Buruli consortium has successfully gene sequenced the bacteria that transmit Buruli. Buruli ulcer, for the unfamiliar, is a disgusting flesh-eating disease that leads to open sores and deformities. It generally affects children and young people, and it’s primarily found in West Africa (though it also shows up in Asia, Latin America, and Australia. I am hoping they mean some part of Asia far away from Central Asia, where I live.) And – this is fun – we’re not sure exactly how it is transmitted.  It has a mechanism beyond just skin-to-skin contact. It seems to be linked to slow moving water. Maybe.

» Read more: Good News For Buruli Ulcer

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Posted in Africa, Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, poverty, Public Health

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Health authorities try to convince villagers that Buruli ulcer is not the result of witchcraft

July 27th, 2010

Reprinted with permission by Robert Herriman, Infectious Disease Examiner

By: Robert Herriman

As four communities in the Ayamelum council of Anambra State of Nigeria battle an outbreak of buruli ulcer, health officials face another battle and it’s not the bacteria…it’s a belief in witchcraft as the cause.

With about 250 natives affected one of the biggest battles is educating and convincing the people that the sores are not the result of spells or witchcraft.

This is the battle state Commissioner for Health, Professor Amobi Ilika faces. Patients interviewed said the ulcer began as a tiny spot. As it makes progress, it manifests as a little painless noodle or just as a skin discoloration and so on, on any part of the body.

But because of superstitious beliefs, the people seek out remedies that do not cure the infection and in fact make it worse.

“But because the people believe that it is caused by a spell or witch craft, they resort to native doctors for a cure, or at most patent medicine dealers. In fact there is a patent medicine proprietor that is so popular in treating the affected persons and making them believe it will be well even when evidence of the eyes shows that it is worsening,” according to source.

» Read more: Health authorities try to convince villagers that Buruli ulcer is not the result of witchcraft

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Posted in Africa, Global Development, Global Health, NTDs

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Reading List 6/21/2010

June 21st, 2010

New reading list to get your week started off right! Today we’re reading about the lack of attention that “silent killers” receive in the world of global health (the article mentions Dr. Peter Hotez, President of the Sabin Vaccine Institute), the Global Health Initiative’s announcement naming eight additional countries who will receive aid, the WHO declaring Malaybalay City, Bukidnon in the Philippines free from Filariasis, and experts urging the WHO to change its guidelines for clinical diagnosis of the neglected tropical disease Buruli Ulcer. Enjoy the reads!

The AIDS Funding Dilemma, Paul Webster, Miller-McCune
U.S. names eight countries to get health aid, Reuters
WHO declares province ‘Filariasis-free’, Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro
WHO Guidelines on Buruli Ulcer Need Adjustment, Science Daily

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Posted in Global Development, Global Health, NTDs, Obama Administration, Public Health, reading list

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Reading List 3/8/2010

March 8th, 2010

Today, as we join in celebrating International Women’s Day, we’re reading the WHO’s comments on this day as well as reviewing a paper Dr. Peter Hotez wrote about womens health and NTDs. We’re also reading a profile of river blindness and about Buruli ulcer, one of the less discussed NTDs.

Equal rights, equal opportunities: progress for all, World Health Organization

WHO laments “shameful” lack of respect for women’s right to good health, World Health Organization

Empowering Women and Improving Female Reproductive Health through Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Peter Hotez, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases

Blind to the river and its hazards, Stanley M. Aronson, The Providence Journal

Buruli ulcer: an overlooked tropical disease, Robert Herriman, Examiner.com

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Posted in Africa, Global Development, Global Health, Latin America and the Caribbean, NTDs, policy, Politics, Public Health, reading list

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