Buruli ulcer recurrence, Benin

Emerg Infect Dis. 2005 Apr;11(4):584-9. doi: 10.3201/eid1104.041000.

Abstract

Buruli ulcer is a recognized public health problem in West Africa. In Benin, from 1989 to 2001, the Centre Sanitaire et Nutritionnel Gbemoten (CSNG) treated >2,500 Buruli ulcer patients. From March 2000 to February 2001, field trips were conducted in the Zou and Atlantique regions. The choice of the 2 regions was based on the distance from CSNG and on villages with the highest number of patients treated at CSNG. A total of 66 (44.0%) of 150 former patients treated at CSNG were located in the visited villages. The recurrence rate of CSNG-treated patients after a follow-up period of up to 7 years was low (6.1%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.0-15.6). We attribute this low rate to the high quality of Buruli ulcer treatment at an accessible regional center (CSNG). The World Health Organization definition of a Buruli ulcer recurrent case should be revised to include a follow-up period >1 year.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Benin / epidemiology
  • Endemic Diseases
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / drug therapy
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / epidemiology*
  • Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / surgery
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans / isolation & purification*
  • Recurrence
  • Rifampin / therapeutic use
  • Skin Diseases, Bacterial / drug therapy
  • Skin Diseases, Bacterial / epidemiology*
  • Skin Diseases, Bacterial / surgery
  • Streptomycin / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Rifampin
  • Streptomycin