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. 2005 Apr;2(4):e108.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020108. Epub 2005 Apr 26.

Buruli ulcer (M. ulcerans infection): new insights, new hope for disease control

Paul D R Johnson  1 , Timothy Stinear, Pamela L C Small, Gerd Pluschke, Richard W Merritt, Francoise Portaels, Kris Huygen, John A Hayman, Kingsley Asiedu
Affiliations

Buruli ulcer (M. ulcerans infection): new insights, new hope for disease control

Paul D R Johnson et al. PLoS Med. 2005 Apr.

Erratum in

  • PLoS Med. 2005 May;2(5):e173

Abstract

Buruli ulcer is a disease of skin and soft tissue caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. It can leave affected people scarred and disabled. What are the prospects for disease control?

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: PLCS is listed as an inventor on a patent for mycolactone; PDRJ, TS, and PLCS are listed as inventors on a provisional patent for the PKS locus that makes mycolactone. However, any financial benefit that may arise from these patents would be in the field of either cancer medicine (mycolactone may inhibit some cell functions) or combinatorial chemistry, rather than Buruli ulcer.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Countries Reporting Buruli Ulcer
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. Data Source: WHO/Global Buruli Ulcer Initiative Map Production: Public Health Mapping & GIS Communicable Diseases (CDS) World Health Organization. (Photo: World Health Organization)
Figure 2
Figure 2. M. ulcerans Infection of the Shin of an 11-Year-Old Boy, Coastal Victoria, Australia
A closer view, revealing deep undermining, is shown in the second panel. (Photo: Paul D. R. Johnson)
Figure 3
Figure 3. Long-Term Sequelae of M. ulcerans Infection, Benin, West Africa
(Photo: Kingsley Asiedu)
Figure 4
Figure 4. Semi-Aquatic Hemiptera That Have Tested Positive for M. ulcerans
The top row is Macrocoris sp., 1.0 centimeter in body length (Family Naucoridae), and the bottom row is Appasus sp., about 2.5 centimeters in body length (Family Belastomatidae). The ventral and dorsal views are in the left and right panels, respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. MacCallum P, Tolhurst JC, Buckle G, Sissons HA. A new mycobacterial infection in man. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1948;60:93–122. - PubMed
    1. Meyers WM. Mycobacterial infections of the skin. In: Seifert G, editor. Tropical dermatology. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 1994.
    1. Smith JH. Epidemiologic observations on cases of Buruli ulcer seen in a hospital in the Lower Congo. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1970;19:657–663. - PubMed
    1. Epidemiology of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (Buruli ulcer) at Kinyara, Uganda. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1971;65:763–775. - PubMed
    1. Oluwasanmi JO, Solankee TF, Olurin EO, Itayemi SO, Alabi GO, et al. Mycobacterium ulcerans (Buruli) skin ulceration in Nigeria. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1976;25:122–128. - PubMed

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