Laboratoire d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2007 Dec 19;1(3):e101. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0000101.
Buruli ulcer is an infectious disease involving the skin, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. This disease is associated with areas where the water is slow-flowing or stagnant. However, the exact mechanism of transmission of the bacillus and the development of the disease through human activities is unknown.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A case-control study to identify Buruli ulcer risk factors in Cameroon compared case-patients with community-matched controls on one hand and family-matched controls on the other hand. Risk factors identified by the community-matched study (including 163 pairs) were: having a low level of education, swamp wading, wearing short, lower-body clothing while farming, living near a cocoa plantation or woods, using adhesive bandages when hurt, and using mosquito coils. Protective factors were: using bed nets, washing clothes, and using leaves as traditional treatment or rubbing alcohol when hurt. The family-matched study (including 118 pairs) corroborated the significance of education level, use of bed nets, and treatment with leaves.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Covering limbs during farming activities is confirmed as a protective factor guarding against Buruli ulcer disease, but newly identified factors including wound treatment and use of bed nets may provide new insight into the unknown mode of transmission of M. ulcerans or the development of the disease.
溃疡分枝杆菌感染导致的皮肤疾病，即 溃疡分枝杆菌病，俗称为 溃疡 ，是一种传染性疾病。该疾病与水流缓慢或停滞的地区有关。然而，目前仍不清楚该细菌的传播确切机制以及其如何通过人类活动引发疾病。
方法/主要发现： 本研究在喀麦隆开展了一项病例对照研究，旨在确定溃疡分枝杆菌病的危险因素。该研究将病例患者与社区匹配对照（包括 163 对）以及家庭匹配对照（包括 118 对）进行了比较。社区匹配研究确定的危险因素包括：教育程度低、在沼泽中涉水、在农田劳作时穿短衣短裤、居住在可可种植园或树林附近、受伤时使用创可贴以及使用蚊香。保护因素包括使用蚊帐、洗衣服以及使用树叶作为传统治疗方法或酒精处理伤口。家庭匹配研究进一步证实了教育程度、使用蚊帐以及使用树叶进行治疗的重要性。
结论/意义： 在农业活动中遮盖四肢被证实是预防溃疡分枝杆菌病的保护因素，但新发现的包括伤口处理和使用蚊帐等因素可能为溃疡分枝杆菌的未知传播模式或疾病发展提供新的见解。
