The world’s only research center on dermatophytosis, a neglected tropical disease common among farmers, has been destroyed in Sudan’s two-year war, its director and another expert say.
Mycetoma is caused by bacteria or fungi and usually enters the body through wounds. It is an infectious disease that gradually destroys the body’s tissues, affecting the skin, muscles and even bones.
It is often characterized by swollen feet, but can also cause barnacle-like growths and stick-like hands.
Ahmed Fahl, director of the Mycetoma Research Center (MRC), told AFP: “The center and all its infrastructure was destroyed during the war in Sudan.”
“The center and all its infrastructure was destroyed during the war in Sudan,” added Fahl, whose center has treated thousands of patients from Sudan and other countries: “We lost the entire contents of our biobanks, where there was data for more than 40 years. “It’s hard to bear.”
Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army has been fighting a war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) across the northeast African country.
Sudan’s healthcare system is at “breaking point,” according to the World Health Organization.
Among the victims of the conflict is now the Medical Research Center, founded in 1991 under the auspices of the University of Khartoum. It was a rare story of medical success in impoverished Sudan.
AFP was unable to independently verify the current status of the medical research center.
Fahl said the center has grown to include 50 researchers and treats 12,000 patients a year.
The World Health Organization says the organisms that cause mycetoma are also found in Sudan’s neighbors, including Chad and Ethiopia, as well as in other tropical and subtropical regions, including Mexico and Thailand.
For pastoralists, farmers and other workers who rely on manual labor to survive, a paralyzing mycetoma infection can be a life sentence.
Drawing on the expertise of the International Medical Research Center, in 2019 the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Sudan held the first international training workshop on mycetoma in Khartoum.
“Sudan used to be a world leader in mycetoma,” said Dr. Borna Nyauki-Anoki, WHO’s head of mycetoma: “Today, Sudan, which was at the forefront of countries suffering from mycetoma, has fallen 100 percent.
