Jan. 2014. Vol. 3, No.5 ISSN 2307-2083 International Journal of Research In Medical and Health Sciences © 2013-2014 IJRMHS & K.A.J. All rights reserved http://www.ijsk.org/ijrmhs.html 1 SPATIAL DEPENDENCY OF BURULI ULCER ON POTENTIAL SURFACE RUNOFF AND POTENTIAL MAXIMUM SOIL WATER RETENTION Saviour Mantey 1 , Richard K. Amankwah 2 and Alfred Allan Duker 3 1 Department of Geomatic Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana 2 Department of Mineral Engineering, University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana 3 Department of Geomatic Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Email addresses: saviour.mantey@gmail.com, ABSTRACT Buruli Ulcer (BU) is an endemic prevalent disease in Ghana and other West African countries including; Cote d´Ivoire, Benin and Togo. Despite recent upsurge of research in Buruli Ulcer, the natural reservoir and mode of transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) have not yet been determined. However, all major foci are found in wetlands of tropical and subtropical countries. In this study, a landscape spatial hydrological modeling approach based on Potential Maximum Soil Water Retention (PMSWR), Soil Conservation Service Curve Number Grid (SCS CNGrid) and empirical evidence from field research were applied to understand their relationship with BU disease in two districts of Ghana. Landuse data, Hydrological Soil Groups (HSGs), Landsat images and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) were used to generate the SCS CNGrid and the PMSWR of the study areas. The results of the SCS CNGrid and PMSWR maps linked BU endemic areas to low to moderate surface runoff potential and high to moderate PMSWR. BU endemic communities in the two districts were also mostly enclaved by galamsey (illegal) mining activities and farms. This study proved that the PMSWR and SCS CNGrid values are important hydrological parameters to determine surface runoff potential and thus delineate BU disease prone areas. Key words: BU, SCS CNGrid, PMSWR, Potential Surface Runoff, DEM, Ghana INTRODUCTION BU is an endemic disease which destroys the skin, underlying tissues, muscles and bones when not treated early. It is caused by MU. The disease has been known in endemic communities in Ghana for years with an overall prevalence rate of 20.7 per 100 000 [1]. But in recent years, cases have increased, prompting renewed interest in BU research especially in parts of West Africa (Cote d´Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo) [2-7]. Despite the renewed research interest in BU disease, the natural reservoir and mode of transmission of MU is still unclear. However, research has pointed to wetlands of tropical and subtropical areas as potential reservoirs of the MU [3, 7-13]. It is also widely believed that BU disease mostly occurs in people who live and work close to stagnant bodies of water [14]. Additionally, research has shown that new cases of BU have been reported after flood events [5, 7, 13, 15-18]. For example, Bainsdale in Australia, recorded the first case of BU in 1939 after the worst floods in 1935 [19-21]. BU cases were also reported after flood events along the settlements of Sepik and Kumusi Rivers in Papua New Guinea in 1957 [22]. This flooding was in concert with the explosive eruption of Mt. Lamington in 1951 [23, 24]. Case and control studies have linked landscape disturbances to BU disease [16, 25]. Furthermore, surface runoff from landscape disturbances also lead to solubilisation of exposed reactive minerals causing pollution of rivers, streams and soils by sulphuric acid and harmful elements such as arsenic, cadmium and mercury [26, 27]. Pollution of rivers, streams and soils usually occurs when mined materials from uncontrolled and