15 February 2011 | Zürich
This new project aims to improve the diagnosis of buruli ulcer and the patient management.

Several studies in buruli ulcer endemic countries have shown that the clinical diagnosis of the disease by specialised professionals is not straightforward and often leads to misdiagnosis of the disease. Diagnosis of buruli ulcer based on the clinical signs & symptoms and microscopic examination is limited in the sensitivity and specificity. This has direct implications to the patient who gets the wrong or unnecessary long treatment in case of misdiagnosis. The confirmation of the case by laboratory methods is thus a central issue.

In this project, researchers from the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM, Antwerp), reference centres and laboratories for buruli ulcer in Benin (Allada, Cotonou and Parakou) and the Chambéry hospital (France) will systematically diagnose a large set of patients. The patients will be documented by microscopy, culture, molecular technique and tissue analysis. The findings will eventually allow developing well defined instructions for an improved diagnosis of the disease and adequate management of the patients.