Report of a series of 82 cases of Buruli ulcer from Nigeria treated in Benin, from 2006 to 2016.

• Published in: PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: Gilbert Adjimon Ayelo, Esai Anagonou, Anita Carolle Wadagni, Yves Thierry Barogui, Ange Dodji Dossou, Jean Gabin Houezo, Julia Aguiar, Roch Christian Johnson, Raoul Saizonou, Kingsley Asiedu, Ghislain Emmanuel Sopoh
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018
• Subjects: Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0006358; https://doaj.org/article/fcaa6fa9d9ac4fd0a871328984a09528

Nigeria is one of the countries endemic for Buruli ulcer (BU) in West Africa but did not have a control programme until recently. As a result, BU patients often access treatment services in neighbouring Benin where dedicated health facilities have been established to provide treatment free of charge for BU patients. This study aimed to describe the epidemiological, clinical, biological and therapeutic characteristics of cases from Nigeria treated in three of the four treatment centers in Benin.A series of 82 BU cases from Nigeria were treated in three centres in Benin during 2006-2016 and are retrospectively described. The majority of these patients came from Ogun and Lagos States which border Benin. Most of the cases were diagnosed with ulcerative lesions (80.5%) and WHO category III lesions (82.9%); 97.5% were healed after a median hospital stay of 46 days (interquartile range [IQR]: 32-176 days).This report adds to the epidemiological understanding of BU in Nigeria in the hope that the programme will intensify efforts aimed at early case detection and treatment.