Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24340112›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2013

Burden of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease (Buruli ulcer) and the underreporting ratio in the territory of Songololo, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Delphin Mavinga Phanzu, Patrick Suykerbuyk, Paul Saunderson, Philippe Ngwala Lukanu, Jean-Bedel Masamba Minuku, Désiré Bofunga B Imposo, Blanchard Mbadu Diengidi, Makanzu Kayinua, Jean-Jacques Tamfum Muyembe, Pascal Tshindele Lutumba and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Systematic review: Global host range, case fatality and detection rates ofJournal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2024
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Toward a Single-Dose Cure for Buruli Ulcer.Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2020
    Article
  7. Article
  8. The changing epidemiology worldwide ofEpidemiology and infection · 2018
    Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Delphin Mavinga PhanzuGeneral Reference Hospital of Kimpese, Institut Médical Evangélique, Kimpese, Bas-Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo ; Department of Public Health, Unit of Epidemiology and Disease Control, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.
Patrick Suykerbuyk
Paul Saunderson
Philippe Ngwala Lukanu
Jean-Bedel Masamba Minuku
Désiré Bofunga B Imposo
Blanchard Mbadu Diengidi
Makanzu Kayinua
Jean-Jacques Tamfum Muyembe
Pascal Tshindele Lutumba
Bouke C de Jong
Françoise Portaels
Marleen Boelaert
Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde · BENational Institute of Biomedical Research · CDAmerican Leprosy Missions · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCutaneous infection by Mycobacterium ulcerans, also known as Buruli ulcer (BU), represents the third most common mycobacterial disease in the world after tuberculosis and leprosy. Data on the burden of BU disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo are scanty. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence rate and the distribution of BU in the Songololo Territory, and to assess the coverage of the existing hospital-based reporting system.

methodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey (July-August 2008) using the door-to-door method simultaneously in the two rural health zones (RHZ) of the Songololo Territory (RHZ of Kimpese and Nsona-Mpangu), each containing twenty health areas. Cases were defined clinically as active BU and inactive BU in accordance with WHO-case definitions.

resultsWe detected 775 BU patients (259 active and 516 inactive) in a total population of 237,418 inhabitants. The overall prevalence of BU in Songololo Territory was 3.3/1000 inhabitants, varying from 0 to 27.5/1000 between health areas. Of the 259 patients with active BU, 18 (7%) had been reported in the hospital-based reporting system at Kimpese in the 6-8 months prior to the survey.

conclusionThe survey demonstrated a huge variation of prevalence between health areas in Songololo Territory and gross underreporting of BU cases in the hospital-based reporting system. Data obtained may contribute to better targeted and improved BU control interventions, and serve as a baseline for future assessments of the control program.

Indexed as

AdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overBuruli UlcerChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesDemocratic Republic of the CongoDisease NotificationFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMycobacterium ulceransPrevalence

Identifiers

PMID24340112
PMCPMC3855042
OpenAlexW1979090690

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.