One of the leading experts on Buruli ulcer and leprosy in Africa will give a conference in Zaragoza this Friday

The IIS Aragón in collaboration with the Mycobacteria Genetics Group and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Zaragoza organize a seminar on December 1 on how to improve the control of these diseases

Roch Christian Johnson, medical director of the Follereau Foundation, will explain at 10 a.m. at the Aragon Biomedical Research Center (CIBA) how to improve the control of these diseases

The expert participates in the BLMs4BU study carried out in four African countries, together with the University of Zaragoza, the Anesvad Foundation and the ARAID Foundation, to reduce the treatment time of the skin disease, Buruli Ulcer, by half.

Zaragoza will host this Friday December 1 the lecture by one of the leading experts on Buruli ulcer and leprosy in Africa, Dr. Roch Christian Johnson, medical director of the Raoul Follereau Foundation and senior professor at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. His talk, in which he will address how to improve the treatment of these diseases, will take place at 10am in the auditorium of the Biomedical Research Center of Aragon (CIBA).The Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of communicable diseases prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. They affect more than one billion people and cost developing economies trillions of dollars each year. The socioeconomic consequences are enormous. Of the 20 NTDs, 12 are endemic in Africa. The coendemicity of certain diseases; The similarity of clinical signs, as well as the scarcity of financial, human and temporal resources, require integrated management of these diseases, including Buruli ulcer and leprosy.

The World Health Organization roadmap for 2021-2030 aims to accelerate progress towards prevention, control, elimination and eradication of these 20 NTDs. Among the priorities are the elimination of leprosy and the control of Buruli ulcer, two skin NTDs. The goal of eliminating leprosy as a public health problem has been achieved since 2000 at the African regional level, except in the Comoros. He Current Buruli ulcer treatment requires eight weeks of daily rifampicin and clarithromycin, wound care, and sometimes tissue grafts and surgery. Currently, the BLMs4BU study (https://blms4bu.org/) carried out in four African countries aims to reduce treatment from 8 to 4 weeks and is carried out by an international consortium coordinated by the Araid Foundation and the University of Zaragoza. Furthermore, pilot integration experiences have been successfully implemented in different countries, particularly in Benin and Ivory Coast, which suggests that this strategy is effective and efficient in consolidating the achievements in the fight against these diseases. “With this study we want achieve a new shorter, highly effective and totally oral treatment. This would reduce not only its duration, but also the healing time of all types of injuries. Furthermore, it would require less hospitalization and, therefore, less cost, with a simpler therapy and brief”, as highlighted Santiago Ramon, scientific coordinator of said study and ARAID Foundation researcher in the Zaragoza's University.

Organizers of the conference on Friday, December 1

Santiago Ramón García, Mycobacterial Genetics Group, Department of Pediatric Microbiology, Radiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zaragoza; Aragonese Agency for Research and Development Foundation (ARAID), Zaragoza.Emma Sáez López, Mycobacterial Genetics Group, Department of Pediatric Microbiology, Radiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zaragoza.BLMs4BU Consortium (https://blms4bu.org/)

featured photo: Raoul Follereau, Fondation reconnue d'utilité publishes

Source: Zaragoza's University