Future microbiology
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Future microbiology · Oct 2011
ReviewTreating Mycobacterium ulcerans disease (Buruli ulcer): from surgery to antibiotics, is the pill mightier than the knife?
Until 2004, the skin disease known as Buruli ulcer, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, could only be treated by surgery and skin grafting. Although this worked reasonably well on early lesions typically found in patients in Australia, the strategy was usually impractical on large lesions resulting from diagnostic delay in patients in rural West Africa. Based on promising preclinical studies, treatment trials in West Africa have shown that a combination of rifampin and streptomycin administered daily for 8 weeks can kill M. ulcerans bacilli, arrest the disease, and promote healing without relapse or reduce the extent of surgical excision. Improved treatment options are the focus of research that has increased tremendously since the WHO began its Global Buruli Ulcer Initiative in 1998.
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Future microbiology · May 2011
Case ReportsEggerthella lenta bacteremia in a Crohn's disease patient after ileocecal resection.
Eggerthella lenta is an anaerobic, nonspore-forming Gram-positive rod and is a common gut commensal. Bacteremia from this organism is rare but when present is always clinically significant. ⋯ Eggerthella species have been isolated in feces from patients with inflammatory bowel disease, but bacteremia has not been reported to the best of our knowledge. Here we report the case of a young African-American female with Crohn's disease who developed Eggerthella lenta bacteremia after ileocaecal resection.