MASSENA -- The Massena Rotary Club recently donated $2,250 to an international project designed to fight the buruli ulcer disease in the West African country of Ghana.

“Buruli ulcer is a flesh-eating bacterium which often leads to destruction of the skin, deformities and sometimes amputation,” according to club member Jerry Manor. “While no one knows the mode of transmission, insect bites and wounds exposed to contaminated water or soil have been implicated in published studies as possible vectors.”

The disease control aspects will involve finding buruli ulcer in two districts of the Ashanti region.

Ghana is number two in the world for the disease and Ashanti is the number one region in Ghana, according to Manor.

Buruli ulcers have been reported in more than 30 countries, but the disease mainly affects West Africa, Manor said.

This project will combine providing a potable water supply with disease surveillance and cure.