Deaths / year
100
GBD (indicative unless refreshed)
DALYs / year
50,000
GBD
Pathogen
Bacteria
Post-infectious
Lasting sequela
Persistent symptoms
n/a
Post-infectious syndrome & persistent symptoms
Whether a post-acute infection syndrome is documented and the literature proportion with persistent symptoms.
Post-acute status
Contractures, deformity, functional limitation after healing
Classification
Lasting sequela
Onset
post-treatment
Persistent-symptom %
not quantified as a single figure (see notes)
Source: WHO Buruli ulcer
Therapeutic agents by stage
Vector control, prevention, acute treatment, and post-infectious care. Only agents with published evidence are shown by default.
Prevention
| Agent | Type | Status | Mechanism / role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environmental wound care & early detection | Prevention | Approved | Reduce M. ulcerans exposure; community surveillance | WHO EML / standard of care |
Acute phase
| Agent | Type | Status | Mechanism / role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rifampicin + clarithromycin | Antibiotic combination | Approved | Mycobacterial RNA polymerase / protein synthesis inhibition | WHO EML / standard of care |
| Streptomycin + rifampicin | Antibiotic combination | Approved | Alternative WHO regimen | WHO EML / standard of care |
| CLARITHROMYCINPipeline | Small molecule | Phase 3 | — | Open Targets (clinical pipeline) |
| STREPTOMYCINPipeline | Small molecule | Phase 3 | — | Open Targets (clinical pipeline) |
| RIFAMPINPipeline | Small molecule | Phase 3 | — | Open Targets (clinical pipeline) |
Post-infectious phase
| Agent | Type | Status | Mechanism / role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physiotherapy & surgery for contractures | Rehabilitation | Approved | Functional limitation after healing | WHO Buruli ulcer |
Associated drug targets (Open Targets): SLC11A1, IFNG, IL1B, BCL2L11, ARAF, HSPD1
Burden: IHME GBD (indicative seed unless refreshed) · Therapeutics: curated WHO EML / SOC + Open Targets pipeline · Post-infectious data: curated peer-reviewed literature · Ontology: MONDO_0000327 · Updated 2026-07-10. Associations, not a diagnostic test.