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Mosquitoes spread the Buruli ulcer agent Mycobacterium ulcerans

Nature Microbiology volume 9, pages 320–321 (2024)Cite this article

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Cases of Buruli ulcer in southeastern Australia have increased over the past 10 years. Native possums are a reservoir for Mycobacterium ulcerans (the cause of Buruli ulcer), but the route of transmission to humans is unclear. Our findings identify mosquitoes as the vector of M. ulcerans from possums to humans.

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Fig. 1: Humans, possums and mosquitoes with M. ulcerans interact spatially and share the same bacterial genotype.

References

  1. Fyfe, J. A. M. et al. A major role for mammals in the ecology of Mycobacterium ulcerans. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 4, e791 (2010). Report that identifies Australian native possums as a wildlife reservoir of M. ulcerans.

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  2. Buultjens, A. H. et al. Season of transmission of Ross River/Barmah Forest Virus and Mycobacterium ulcerans closely align in southeastern Australia, supporting mosquitoes as the vector of Buruli ulcer. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.08.07.552371 (2023). Comparison of alpharvirus infection and Buruli ulcer notifications, showing highly significant overlap in peak transmission of both diseases for the past six years.

  3. Linke, J. A., Athan, E. & Friedman, N. D. Correlation between Buruli ulcer incidence and vectorborne diseases, southeastern Australia, 2000–2020. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 27, 3191–3192 (2021). Opinion article arguing mosquitoes are unlikely vectors of M. ulcerans.

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This is a summary of: Mee, P. T. et al. Mosquitoes provide a transmission route between possums and humans for Buruli ulcer in southeastern Australia. Nat. Microbiol. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01553-1 (2024).

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Mosquitoes spread the Buruli ulcer agent Mycobacterium ulcerans. Nat Microbiol 9, 320–321 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-023-01554-0

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