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Buruli ulcer (BU) is a little understood, severely debilitating skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans that has serious health and economic consequences. The slow growing environmental Mycobacterium clinically manifests as papules, nodules, plaques, edema, ulcers, and scars with or without contracture. Although its mode of transmission is not fully understood, the disease-carrying agent has been identified as belonging to the family of pathogens that cause tuberculosis and leprosy.
BU begins as a painless nodule. If not treated early, the organism gains access to the subcutaneous tissue and develops a unique toxin called mycolactane that suppresses the immune system, and invades the lymphatic system and blood vessels of the patient. The patient feels no pain until it is too late, by which time the patient's skin tissue and other vital organs have been severely damaged. The result is extensive scarring, permanent disability, or in very rare cases even death. Medical treatments for the lesions are generally disappointing, leaving wide surgical excision as the only effective treatment. Generally, treatment involves hospitalization for debridement and skin grafting, which frequently has to be repeated. Current epidemiological studies reveal lopsided prevalence rates among children between the ages of 2 and 14, although the disease is not confined to any specific age group.
Few studies have assessed the economic impact of BU on its victims. With the exception of two studies, one in the Côte d'Ivoire and the other in Australia, most of the existing research on the economic aspects of the disease has been conducted in Ghana, one of the most severly affected countries.
'HIV/AIDS, Illness and African Well-Being' highlights the specific health problems facing Africa today, most particularly the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Taking a multi-disciplinary approach, the book presents not only various health crises, but also the larger historical and contemporary contexts within which they must be understood and managed. Chapters offering analysis of specific illness case studies, and the effects of globalization and underdevelopment on health, provide an overarching context in which HIV/AIDS and other health-related concerns can be understood. The contributions on the HIV/AIDS pandemic grapple with the complications of national and international policies, the sociological effects of the pandemic, and policy options for the future. 'HIV/AIDS, Illness and African Well-Being' thus provides a comprehensive view of health issues currently plaguing the continent and the many different ways that scholars are interpreting the health outlook in Africa. Contributors: Obijiofor Aginam, Yacouba Banhoro, Richard Beilock, Charity Chenga, Mandi Chikombero, Kaley Creswell, Freek Cronjé, Frank N. F. Dadzie, Gabriel B. Fosu, Stephen Obeng-Manu Gyimah, Kathryn H. Jacobsen, W. Bediako Lamousé-Smith, William N. Mkanta, Gerald M. Mumma, Kalala Ngalamulume, Raphael Chijioke Njoku, Cecilia S. Obeng, Iruka N. Okeke, Akpen Philip, Baffour K. Takyi, Melissa K. Van Dyke, Sophie Wertheimer, Ellen A. S. Whitney. Toyin Falola is the Francis Nalle Higgenbothom Centennial Professor of History and Distinuished Teaching at the University of Texas at Austin. Matthew M. Heaton is a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Austin.