Buruli ulcer in Australia: Evidence for a new endemic focus at Batemans Bay, New South Wales

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Dec 13;18(12):e0012702. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012702. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Abstract

We describe two locally acquired cases of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (Buruli ulcer) in the town of Batemans Bay on the east coast of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, 150 km north of Eden, the only other place in NSW where Buruli ulcer has likely been locally acquired. Genomic analysis showed that the bacterial isolates from the cases were identical but belonged to a phylogenetically distinct M. ulcerans clade that was most closely related to the isolate from the earlier case in Eden to the south. It is proposed that Batemans Bay is a new endemic focus of human Buruli ulcer transmission.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Buruli Ulcer* / epidemiology
  • Buruli Ulcer* / microbiology
  • Endemic Diseases
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans* / classification
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans* / genetics
  • Mycobacterium ulcerans* / isolation & purification
  • New South Wales / epidemiology
  • Phylogeny

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.