ArticleGenome biology and evolution2017
Multiple Introductions and Recent Spread of the Emerging Human Pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans across Africa.
Article in Genome biology and evolution, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Human-induced pressures and environmental factors drive the distribution of neglected tropical disease Buruli ulcer.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Canonical fact versus hypothesis testing to decipher transmission of non-tuberculous and tuberculous mycobacteria: a comparative review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- Emergence and spread ofMicrobiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Pseudogenomic insights into the evolution of Mycobacterium ulcerans.BMC genomics · 2024Article
- 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
- Identification and Characterization of Mycobacterial Species Using Whole-Genome Sequences.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2021Article
- Introduction of Mycobacterium ulcerans disease in the Bankim Health District of Cameroon follows damming of the Mapé River.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2020Article
- Human genetics of Buruli ulcer.Human genetics · 2020Review
- Genome-wide association study of Buruli ulcer in rural Benin highlights role of two LncRNAs and the autophagy pathway.Communications biology · 2020Article
- Stable and Local Reservoirs of Mycobacterium ulcerans Inferred from the Nonrandom Distribution of Bacterial Genotypes, Benin.Emerging infectious diseases · 2020Article
- Mycobacterium ulcerans Population Genomics To Inform on the Spread of Buruli Ulcer across Central Africa.mSphere · 2019Article
- Targeting the Mycobacterium ulcerans cytochrome bcNature communications · 2018Article
- The changing epidemiology worldwide ofEpidemiology and infection · 2018Article
- Understanding perceptions on 'Buruli' in northwestern Uganda: A biosocial investigation.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
- Mycobacterial biomaterials and resources for researchers.Pathogens and disease · 2018Review
- Comparative Genomics Shows That Mycobacterium ulcerans Migration and Expansion Preceded the Rise of Buruli Ulcer in Southeastern Australia.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2018Article
- Microdeletion on chromosome 8p23.1 in a familial form of severe Buruli ulcer.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2018Article
- Increased Severity and Spread of Mycobacterium ulcerans, Southeastern Australia.Emerging infectious diseases · 2018Article
- Buruli Ulcer, a Prototype for Ecosystem-Related Infection, Caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2018Review
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18 authors.
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Abstract
Buruli ulcer (BU) is an insidious neglected tropical disease. Cases are reported around the world but the rural regions of West and Central Africa are most affected. How BU is transmitted and spreads has remained a mystery, even though the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, has been known for more than 70 years. Here, using the tools of population genomics, we reconstruct the evolutionary history of M. ulcerans by comparing 165 isolates spanning 48 years and representing 11 endemic countries across Africa. The genetic diversity of African M. ulcerans was found to be restricted due to the bacterium's slow substitution rate coupled with its relatively recent origin. We identified two specific M. ulcerans lineages within the African continent, and inferred that M. ulcerans lineage Mu_A1 existed in Africa for several hundreds of years, unlike lineage Mu_A2, which was introduced much more recently, approximately during the 19th century. Additionally, we observed that specific M. ulcerans epidemic Mu_A1 clones were introduced during the same time period in the three hydrological basins that were well covered in our panel. The estimated time span of the introduction events coincides with the Neo-imperialism period, during which time the European colonial powers divided the African continent among themselves. Using this temporal association, and in the absence of a known BU reservoir or-vector on the continent, we postulate that the so-called "Scramble for Africa" played a significant role in the spread of the disease across the continent.
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