Osteomyelitis
Two children receive treatment for their
osteomyelitis infections. Photo: CBM
What is Osteomyelitis?
Osteomyelitis is a bacterial bone and joint infection that progressively destroys the bone and may also affect joints.
Infection can spread from the bloodstream into the bone. When a bone becomes infected, pus is produced from within the bone, resulting in a foul-smelling discharge.
Causes of osteomyelitis include:
- Bone fractures
- Malnutrition
- Puncture injury
- Poor hygiene
- A weakened immune system (from HIV or AIDS, Cancer or poor diet).
Osteomyelitis is more common in children because their bones are more vulnerable as they are not fully grown.
If not treated quickly, it will lead to the chronic stage with severe bone destruction.
Curing Osteomyelitis
Antibiotics can eliminate the infection if detected early, but once it becomes chronic, surgery is the only viable option.
Surgeons clean and remove infected tissue and bone but reconstructive surgery is often required.
It is therefore crucial that the condition is detected early to enable treatment to begin.
CBM and Osteomyelitis
CBM supports projects throughout the developing world, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, that detect and provide surgical treatment and rehabilitation for people with this bone infection.
You can support our work and provide treatment for people with osteomyelitis today.
- Train a Community Health Worker (£30) to detect the infection in its early stage.
- Provide orthopaedic surgery (£90) to treat conditions like Osteomyelitis.
Further Reading
- Osteomyelitis - Wikipedia article
- Osteomyelitis - NHS article