Abidjan (Fides Service) - " Some 95 people suffering from Burili ulcers are being treated at our health centre" the Capuchin Fathers in Abidjan tell Fides Service. "The centre was previously in the city of Man in the west of the country, but because of the war we had to move here to Abidjan. We have temporarily turned a new monastery, which had still to be inaugurated, into a health care centre".
Buruli ulcer disease was first seen in 1948 in Buruli, Uganda. Unless the ulcers are treated they can cause paralysis of the limbs, when the infection reaches the nervous system. The disease is caused by a micro-organism yet to be identified. "Our centre collaborates with Pasteur Institutes in Abidjan and in Paris in research for better treatment and a cure. For some years now cases of the disease have been seen mainly in western Ivory Coast. Since we opened our Centre in 1996 we have treated successfully several hundred patients, although some had to be treated again after a new outbreak of the ulcers. Our treatment consists in curing the ulcer and placing a skin graft on the affected part. Our Fathers are specialised nurses, whereas the doctors are state medics. There are many other people working at the centre doing jobs like cleaning the floor to prevent the disease from spreading: a humble but very important task. LM (Fides Service 28/4/2003 EM lines 17 Words: 237)