Mohammed El Safi is a musician who lives in Khartoum, Sudan. His experience with mycetoma started several years ago, during his traditional wedding ceremony preparation, when his sister noted a small painless mass between his toes. She asked him to consult a doctor. Because it was not painful, he ignored it. The mass gradually increased, until he visited the Mycetoma Research Centre. However, he was not regular with the follow-up and treatment. When he eventually went back for treatment, an amputation had to be carried out as the only treatment option.

Mycetoma is a chronic slow-growing infection which comes in either bacterial (actinomycetoma) or fungal (eumycetoma) form. This highly neglected disease is not well understood or widely studied. Infection begins most often in the foot, probably after a cut allows the bacteria or fungus to enter from the soil or animal dung, and it can spread to other parts of the body.

There is no effective cure for the fungal mycetoma commonly found in Sudan. Amputations are frequently the only treatment when infection is severe or other treatments fail. But even so, there is a high chance of recurrence.

This video has been recorded to inform and educate various audiences and stakeholders such as policy-makers, doctors, health workers, patients, researchers, community members, and activists in the mycetoma patient community. We thank the Mycetoma Research Center Sudan for their support.

Find out more about mycetoma.