ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2014
Mycobacterium ulcerans persistence at a village water source of Buruli ulcer patients.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- How long do pathogens persist and survive in water? A systematic review.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Environmental disturbances of trophic interactions and their impacts on a multihost sapronotic pathogen.FEMS microbiology ecology · 2026Article
- Risk factors for Buruli ulcer disease in Ghana: A matched case-control study in four selected endemic districts of Eastern and Oti Regions.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025Article
- Emergence and spread ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Gold Panning-Related Chronic Cutaneous Ulcers in Guinea, West Africa.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2023Article
- Perceived water-related risk factors of Buruli ulcer in two villages of south-central Côte d'Ivoire.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2022Article
- Environmental risk factors associated with the presence of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Victoria, Australia.PloS one · 2022Article
- Variable Number Tandem Repeat Profiling ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- No hints for abundance of Bacillus anthracis and Burkholderia pseudomallei in 100 environmental samples from Cameroon.European journal of microbiology & immunology · 2021Article
- Understanding the transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans: A step towards controlling Buruli ulcer.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Review
- Community-based geographical distribution of Mycobacterium ulcerans VNTR-genotypes from the environment and humans in the Nyong valley, Cameroon.Tropical medicine and health · 2021Article
- Introduction of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease in the Bankim Health District of Cameroon follows damming of the Mapé River.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- The changing epidemiology worldwide ofEpidemiology and infection · 2018Article
- Molecular detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in the environment and its relationship with Buruli ulcer occurrence in Zio and Yoto districts of maritime region in Togo.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
- Risk factors for Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (Buruli Ulcer) in Togo ─ a case-control study in Zio and Yoto districts of the maritime region.BMC infectious diseases · 2018Article
- The potent effect of mycolactone on lipid membranes.PLoS pathogens · 2018Article
- Buruli Ulcer, a Prototype for Ecosystem-Related Infection, Caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2018Review
- Seasonal Pattern of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the Causative Agent of Buruli Ulcer, in the Environment in Ghana.Microbial ecology · 2017Article
- Environmental and Behavioral Drivers of Buruli Ulcer Disease in Selected Communities Along the Densu River Basin of Ghana: A Case-Control Study.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
14 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Buruli ulcer (BU), a neglected tropical disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and is the third most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis and leprosy. While there is a strong association of the occurrence of the disease with stagnant or slow flowing water bodies, the exact mode of transmission of BU is not clear. M. ulcerans has emerged from the environmental fish pathogen M. marinum by acquisition of a virulence plasmid encoding the enzymes required for the production of the cytotoxic macrolide toxin mycolactone, which is a key factor in the pathogenesis of BU. Comparative genomic studies have further shown extensive pseudogene formation and downsizing of the M. ulcerans genome, indicative for an adaptation to a more stable ecological niche. This has raised the question whether this pathogen is still present in water-associated environmental reservoirs. Here we show persistence of M. ulcerans specific DNA sequences over a period of more than two years at a water contact location of BU patients in an endemic village of Cameroon. At defined positions in a shallow water hole used by the villagers for washing and bathing, detritus remained consistently positive for M. ulcerans DNA. The observed mean real-time PCR Ct difference of 1.45 between the insertion sequences IS2606 and IS2404 indicated that lineage 3 M. ulcerans, which cause human disease, persisted in this environment after successful treatment of all local patients. Underwater decaying organic matter may therefore represent a reservoir of M. ulcerans for direct infection of skin lesions or vector-associated transmission.
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