CAIRO, Apr 25 (AFP): The world's only research centre on mycetoma, 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 fungus and usually enters the body through cuts. It is a progressively destructive infectious disease of the body tissue, affecting skin, muscle and even bone.
It is often characterised by swollen feet, but can also cause barnacle-like growths and club-like hands.
"The centre and all its infrastructure were destroyed during the war in Sudan," Ahmed Fahal, director of the Mycetoma Research Centre (MRC), told AFP.
"We lost the entire contents of our biological banks, where there was data from more than 40 years," said Fahal, whose centre had treated thousands of patients from Sudan and other countries.
"It's difficult to bear."
Since April 15, 2023, Sudan's army has been at war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces throughout the northeast African country.
The MRC is located in the Khartoum area, which the army last month reclaimed from the RSF during a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million.
Sudan's health care system has been left at the "breaking point", according to the World Health Organization.
Among the conflict's casualties is now the MRC, established in 1991 under the auspices of the University of Khartoum. It was a rare story of medical success in impoverished Sudan.
A video provided by the global Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) shows collapsed ceilings, shelves overturned, fridges open and documents scattered about.
Sudan war destroys world’s only research centre on skin disease mycetoma
FE Team | Published: April 25, 2025 22:10:55
Sudan war destroys world’s only research centre on skin disease mycetoma
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