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Neglected and forgotten by the industrialized world |
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«Buruli ulcer is a devastating disease, affecting the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, yet so little is known about how to stop its spread.»
Dr. Tim Stinear, Australia
The Buruli ulcer is one of around 14 so-called “neglected tropical diseases”.
These diseases often break out where there is huge poverty and people lack healthcare, live in unhygienic conditions, do not have an adequate water supply and are undernourished. Around one sixth of the world population is affected by one or several of these “neglected tropical diseases”.
These diseases pose no immediate threat to people in industrialized countries; this is one of the reasons why so little is known about them up to now. The fact is that research into their causes and the search for better treatments enjoy no priority on the agendas of industrial nations.
This is particularly true of the Buruli ulcer. Very little is known for certain about how the disease is transmitted and spread, or how to diagnose and treat it. Without intensive research and greater knowledge about its background, the people it affects are denied the help they urgently need.
Although Buruli ulcer had already been discovered by the end of the 19th century and the pathogen mycobacterium ulcerans isolated in 1948, the rapid rise in sufferers and the seriousness of the disease only became clear in the second half of the last century. More and more cases were reported above all in West Africa. In 2004, the WHA (World Health Assembly) passed a resolution calling for more intense research into this largely unknown disease and to improve control of Buruli ulcer.
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Photo spread: Environmental conditions |
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About Buruli 
