Cotonou, 30 March 2009 -- Based on the best available evidence,  the World Health Organization’s  (WHO)  new strategy for Buruli ulcer  (BU) control  will  focus on early case detection and early initiation of antibiotic treatment for patients.

This was announced today by WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Luis Sambo, in an address to the High-Level Leadership Meeting on BU which took place in Cotonou,   Benin Republic.

Explaining the rationale behind the focus of   WHO’s ' BU control strategy on early detection and early commencement of treatment, Dr Sambo stated that “early treatment with antibiotics is vital to avoid the progression of the disease to its destructive and disabling stages.”

He  also informed the participants: “WHO’s strategy for BU control calls for universal access by all populations to appropriate health care … and  given that the incidence of the disease is highest  among deprived populations, treatment should be free of charge or at a cost affordable by the poor.”

The Regional Director   listed some of the numerous advantages of the new strategy as including:  the alleviation of suffering and disabling complications;  reduction in  the cost for specialized  surgery; better integration of Buruli ulcer control activities into the primary health care system, and  the lowering of the  direct and indirect cost of  treatment.

Dr Sambo described the development of drug treatment of  BU as a notable achievement which had revolutionized the  management and treatment of the disease  and reduced by half  the need for  expensive surgical treatment.

However,  many challenges  still lie ahead, he said.

These include the need to develop a simple diagnostic test to help health workers in rural clinics to diagnose the disease; better surveillance and case notification to allow for the commencement of early treatment; shortage of qualified health workers,  and inadequate funds for research into the epidemiology of BU,  its mode of transmission,  and improved diagnosis and treatment.

He  paid tribute to the Heads of State attending the meeting, saying that their presence in Cotonou was evidence of the  importance  they attached to BU control. “Let us work together to get to the root of this disfiguring disease of which mankind is still a victim in the 21st century,”   he   said.

Dr Sambo  also pledged that WHO would continue to work with  countries and development partners to ensure the attainment by Member States  of internationally agreed health objectives.

A neglected but treatable tropical disease, Buruli ulcer,   is caused by infection with Mycobacterium ulcerans,   a relative of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and leprosy.

The disease is characterized by skin lesions which persist without healing.

BU,  named  after  an area of Uganda where it was once highly prevalent,  is present  in over 30 countries worldwide.

In  the African Region,  cases of  BU  have been confirmed in  12 countries : Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Congo,  the  Democtaric Republic of Congo, Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Togo and Uganda.  Suspected cases have been reported in 10  countries: Angola, Burkina Faso,  Equatorial Guinea,  Chad, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.

For interviews, journalists covering the meeting may contact: