Buruli ulcer - Diagnosis of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease
Summary
This manual provides an expert guide to laboratory techniques and procedures used in the diagnosis of Buruli ulcer, a complex disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. The disease, which remains incompletely understood, affects impoverished rural populations in a growing number of tropical countries, where it imposes a huge social and economic burden.
Addressed to health care workers and laboratory scientists in endemic countries, the manual aims to facilitate a better understanding of both the clinical behaviour of the disease and the exact procedures to follow when performing a range of diagnostic tests. Recommended procedures, intended for use throughout the health system, are presented at levels appropriate for peripheral, district, and central services and in line with the varying resources, skills, and equipment typically found in endemic countries. The practical value of this material is enhanced through the inclusion of over 50 colour photographs, tables, flow charts, and model laboratory request and reporting forms.
The opening chapter, on clinical diagnosis, describes the different nonulcerative and ulcerative forms of Buruli ulcer, the features of bone involvement, and common complications and sequelae. Subsequent chapters cover biosafety precautions and record keeping, the collection and transport of clinical specimens, and the diagnosis of secondary bacterial infections. Against this background, the core of the manual sets out diagnostic protocols and step-by-step instructions for a large number of microbiological and histopathological methods. Extensive advice on the interpretation of test results is also provided.
Guidelines for clinical management are set out in a companion volume, Management of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease: A manual for health care providers