[Relapses after surgical treatment of Buruli ulcer in Africa]

Very few documents are available on Buruli ulcer (BU) in the world in general and in Africa in particular, even though this continent is the worst hit by Buruli ulcer. Information has been reported by hospitals protocols. The BU treatment in Africa is mainly based on surgery The results of these treatments vary from one study to another as the relapses rates show it: 17% in Kanga et al. in Côte-d'Ivoire, 16% in Amofah et al. in Ghana, 6% in Debacker et al. in Benin. A manual on management of Mycobacterium ulcerans has been written up by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2001, mainly focusing on surgery management. In 2004, WHO also suggested the use of antibiotics associated or not according to cases with surgery Results are evaluated in terms of recovery, relapses or recurrences. This review of the literature on BU treatment by surgery in Africa from 1920 to 2005 draws up the frequency of relapses after surgery in BU while pointing up the usefulness of a standardization of the evaluation indicators of the real efficiency of BU surgical treatment.