Latest news with #DNDi
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
World's only research centre for flesh-eating infection ransacked in Sudan
The footage sent Dr Ahmed Fahal into shock. On the outskirts of Khartoum, his research centre had been completely ransacked – the reception burned, the laboratory stripped, and four decades of biobank samples destroyed. 'I'm not sure when it took place… but we discovered the damage two weeks ago,' he told the Telegraph from Cairo, where he fled when a brutal civil war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. '[When I saw the video], I was not able to start or to talk or to communicate with anybody. All this time I had believed the centre was safe – but now we found this. It's a really sad, sad story,' he said. Dr Fahal heads the Mycetoma Research Centre in Sudan, the world's only specialist facility treating and researching the flesh-eating infection. But it's become yet another victim of the country's conflict, in a 'major blow' for efforts to tackle the disease. 'I don't know how to describe the kind of set back it has provided,' said Dr Borna Nyaoke-Anoke, head of mycetoma at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). 'It's devastating.' The Mycetoma Research Centre after the ransacking Mycetoma, dubbed a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization (WHO), can be caused by roughly 70 different bacteria and fungi found in soil. These burrow into minor cuts and scrapes, most commonly among farmers and herdsmen who toil without shoes. The slow-moving infection then causes massive swelling, peppering patients with lesions and sores as it attacks their bodies. It can lead to disability, amputation and – in severe cases – death. Data remains patchy, but experts estimate that there are around 20,000 new cases every year. 'It affects the poorest of the poor in remote communities,' said Dr Fahal. 'Eventually mycetoma destroys their soft tissue, their bones, and can kill the patients. It eats their bones and ends their lives.' It is now 34 years since Dr Fahal, frustrated at the lack of treatment available for those affected, launched the Mycetoma Research Centre at the University of Khartoum with 'zero budget and minimum support'. Since then, the facility has grown to treat roughly 12,000 patients every year, and became a WHO collaborating centre in 2015. People travelled from as far away as Yemen to access free care at the facility – which broke the mould by closely following patients after treatment and offering vocational training for those who lost livelihoods due to mycetoma-related disabilities. The ransacked offices of Mycetoma Research Centre With around 50 Sudanese and international researchers, it has also become a critical research hub – only five months ago, it published the first randomised, double blind trial looking at new mycetoma drugs. But the civil war has wrought havoc on operations. When conflict broke out in April 2023, staff had to flee Khartoum, which was then at the epicentre of the war. They have been tracking patients through WhatsApp, and set up temporary operations in Wad Madani – before fleeing to Sanga and then Kassala as the conflict shifted and spread. But far fewer patients have been treated, while the next stage of various research projects were halted. All this time Dr Fahal and his team – unable to access Khartoum – were optimistic that the facility was still standing, and that they could resume research once the capital was recaptured, which took place in March. Instead, staff returning for the first time a fortnight ago found their facility completely ransacked, with the reception and laboratory burned, ceilings collapsed and high-tech equipment destroyed. In the long run, the biggest blow is the loss of 40 years of samples – a unique biobank unmatched anywhere in the world. 'It had very rare types of fungi and bacteria, some of them reported on for the first time – we had 700 fungi and 1,000 samples of bacteria, collected over 40 years… [as well as] a lot of DNA extracted from blood samples,' said Dr Fahal. 'So this is the saddest story because this is a very, very, very, valuable biological material for research.' Prof Trudie Lang, a professor of global health research at the University of Oxford and head of the Global Health Network, added: 'Sudan has brilliant scientists, doing incredibly important work and Dr Fahal's remarkable efforts in mycetoma is an exemplar of this. 'The research centre was doing vital work to tackling this disease and contributing unique evidence to the global research community… [I] hope Dr Fahal can get this back on track.' Dr Nyaoke-Anoke added that organisations should come together to help rebuild the centre, but warned the incident should also be a 'wake up call' for the global community not to rely on a single facility to research and treat any given disease. Two weeks after the initial shock, Dr Fahal is determined not to give up. 'We started in 1991 with zero budget,' he said. 'It is our job now to think how we can rebuild this centre and work together. Really, these patients need to be supported.' Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
28-04-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
World's only research centre for flesh-eating infection ransacked in Sudan
The footage sent Dr Ahmed Fahal into shock. On the outskirts of Khartoum, his research centre had been completely ransacked – the reception burned, the laboratory stripped, and four decades of biobank samples destroyed. 'I'm not sure when it took place… but we discovered the damage two weeks ago,' he told the Telegraph from Cairo, where he fled when a brutal civil war broke out in Sudan in April 2023. '[When I saw the video], I was not able to start or to talk or to communicate with anybody. All this time I had believed the centre was safe – but now we found this. It's a really sad, sad story,' he said. Dr Fahal heads the Mycetoma Research Centre in Sudan, the world's only specialist facility treating and researching the flesh-eating infection. But it's become yet another victim of the country's conflict, in a 'major blow' for efforts to tackle the disease. 'I don't know how to describe the kind of set back it has provided,' said Dr Borna Nyaoke-Anoke, head of mycetoma at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi). 'It's devastating.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
25-04-2025
- Health
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan War Destroys World's Only Research Center on Skin Disease Mycetoma
The world's only research center 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 characterized by swollen feet, but can also cause barnacle-like growths and club-like hands, AFP said. "The center 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 center 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. AFP was not able to independently verify the MRC's current condition. The center had grown to include 50 researchers and treat 12,000 patients each year, Fahal said. Mycetoma is listed as a neglected tropical disease by the WHO. The organisms that cause mycetoma also occur in Sudan's neighbors, including Chad and Ethiopia, as well as in other tropical and sub-tropical areas, among them Mexico and Thailand, WHO says. For herders, farmers and other workers depending on manual labor to survive, crippling mycetoma infections can be a life sentence. Drawing on the MRC's expertise, in 2019 the WHO and Sudan's government convened the First International Training Workshop on Mycetoma, in Khartoum. "Today, Sudan, which was at the forefront of awareness of mycetomas, has gone 100 percent backwards," said Dr. Borna Nyaoke-Anoke, DNDi's head of mycetoma.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Uni study trials new treatment for deadly disease
A clinical trial of a new treatment for one of the world's deadliest parasitic diseases is under way in Liverpool. Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease found in parts of Asia, East Africa, and Brazil, and is transmitted through the bites of infected sand flies. It causes flu-like symptoms including fever, fatigue and weight loss, and is almost always fatal if left untreated - but has been the subject of limited research in recent years. Current treatments require daily injections for up to 17 days which can cause pain, nausea and vomiting, and the new study is trialling an oral drug that could overcome these barriers by being easier to store, transport, and administer. The trial is a collaboration between the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG), the University of Liverpool and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a medical research non-profit organisation. It is being conducted at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. Professor Richard Fitzgerald, principal investigator of the study, said: "Visceral leishmaniasis claims thousands of lives every year, and current treatments are often inaccessible to those who need them most, particularly in low-income regions where healthcare systems are limited. "This trial offers hope for a more practical and effective solution, one that could reach those most at risk and save countless lives. "It also reflects the skills and expertise here in Liverpool, showing that we are at the forefront of developing new medicines for a disease that affects people on the other side of the world." The trial is currently recruiting volunteers from Liverpool and the surrounding areas, with several participants already having completed a screening process. It will take place over two weeks, with volunteers closely monitored by clinical specialists. Fellow researcher Professor Saye Khoo added: "We aim to develop a treatment that can be stored in varying conditions, delivered directly to vulnerable communities, and administered easily, without the need for hospitalisation." Dr Fabiana Alves, director of leishmaniasis programme at the DNDi, said: "An estimated 50,000 to 90,000 new cases occur every year – most of them in Eastern Africa, where half of those infected are children under 15. "We urgently need better, effective, safe and patient-friendly medicines, and this trial in Liverpool is playing a critical role toward that goal." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. One drug is 'new hope' for three killers Urgent action needed as malaria resists key drug The Liverpool team preparing for future pandemics University of Liverpool University Hospitals of Liverpool Group Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
BBC News
25-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Liverpool University study trials new treatment for deadly disease
A clinical trial of a new treatment for one of the world's deadliest parasitic diseases is under way in leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease found in parts of Asia, East Africa, and Brazil, and is transmitted through the bites of infected sand flies. It causes flu-like symptoms including fever, fatigue and weight loss, and is almost always fatal if left untreated - but has been the subject of limited research in recent treatments require daily injections for up to 17 days which can cause pain, nausea and vomiting, and the new study is trialling an oral drug that could overcome these barriers by being easier to store, transport, and administer. The trial is a collaboration between the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group (UHLG), the University of Liverpool and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a medical research non-profit is being conducted at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. 'Save countless lives' Professor Richard Fitzgerald, principal investigator of the study, said: "Visceral leishmaniasis claims thousands of lives every year, and current treatments are often inaccessible to those who need them most, particularly in low-income regions where healthcare systems are limited."This trial offers hope for a more practical and effective solution, one that could reach those most at risk and save countless lives."It also reflects the skills and expertise here in Liverpool, showing that we are at the forefront of developing new medicines for a disease that affects people on the other side of the world."The trial is currently recruiting volunteers from Liverpool and the surrounding areas, with several participants already having completed a screening process. It will take place over two weeks, with volunteers closely monitored by clinical researcher Professor Saye Khoo added: "We aim to develop a treatment that can be stored in varying conditions, delivered directly to vulnerable communities, and administered easily, without the need for hospitalisation."Dr Fabiana Alves, director of leishmaniasis programme at the DNDi, said: "An estimated 50,000 to 90,000 new cases occur every year – most of them in Eastern Africa, where half of those infected are children under 15. "We urgently need better, effective, safe and patient-friendly medicines, and this trial in Liverpool is playing a critical role toward that goal." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
