Objectives. To describe trends and category of disabilities caused by Buruli ulcer disease. Design. This retrospective study was set up to quantify information on the disability trends caused by Buruli ulcer (BU) using data on patients attending BU and chronic ulcer clinics from 2004 to 2009, at Global Evangelical Mission Hospital, Apromase. Methods. Data was retrieved from the WHO BU1 form, case registry book, surgical theatre register, and BU patients' records book of the hospital. Disability was measured as the incapability of patients to perform one or more daily activities due to his/her state of BU disease before treatment. Results. A total of 336 positive BU cases comprising 181 males (53.9%) were recorded of which 113 (33.6%) cases of disabilities were identified. A mean age of 52.5 ( ) years was recorded. For the trend of disabilities, the year 2009 recorded the highest (N = 34, 31.0%). The lesions were mostly located at the lower limbs (N = 65, 57.5%) region of the patients. Lesions with diameter >15？cm were the major (59.3%) category of lesions. Conclusion. Trend of disability reveals proportional increase over the years from 2004 to 2009. Contracture at the knee and ankle joints was the commonest disability recorded. 1. Introduction Buruli ulcer (BU) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU), affecting the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and sometimes the bone. The natural reservoir of the bacillus and the mode of transmission of the disease is unclear [1, 2]. MU has been identified by molecular tools from the environment and, recently, cultured; it is generally believed to be an infection by an environmental microorganism [3]. Many different animal species appear to test positive in endemic areas, [4–7] although, a typical vector has not been convincingly identified [8, 9]. Aquatic insects, notably, Naucoridae spp. may serve as a vector of MU [6]. Case control studies among people living in endemic areas have identified risk factors to contract the disease; there is a striking association with stagnant and slowly flowing water bodies [10–12]. This disease has emerged dramatically in West Africa (C？te d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Benin). Prevalence rates in endemic districts in Ghana are reported to be up to 150 per 100,000 persons [13, 14]. According to the clinical case definition of the World Health Organization (WHO), the preulcerative stage includes nodules, plaques, or edema [2]. Few patients may visit a hospital with this stage of the disease. The most frequent lesion is an ulcer. In the ulcerative stage, skin ulcers with
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