ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2018
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.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Suspected Buruli ulcer cases in Tonkolili District, Sierra Leone- a prospective cohort study.Infection · 2025Article
- Systematic review: Global host range, case fatality and detection rates ofJournal of clinical tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases · 2024Review
- Review
- Variable Number Tandem Repeat Profiling ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- A combined field study of Buruli ulcer disease in southeast Benin proposing preventive strategies based on epidemiological, geographic, behavioural and environmental analyses.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Understanding the transmission of Mycobacterium ulcerans: A step towards controlling Buruli ulcer.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2021Review
- DisseminatedThe American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2019Article
- Buruli Ulcer: a Review of the Current Knowledge.Current tropical medicine reports · 2018Review
- From hidden outbreaks to epidemic emergencies: the threat associated with neglecting emerging pathogens.Microbes and infectionReview
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundBuruli Ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical skin infection caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. Residence near aquatic areas has been identified as an important source of transmission of M. ulcerans with increased risk of contracting Buruli ulcer. However, the reservoir and the mode of transmission are not yet well known. The aim of this study was to identify the presence of M. ulcerans in the environment and its relationship with Buruli ulcer occurrence in Zio and Yoto districts of the maritime region in south Togo.
methodsA total of 219 environmental samples including soil (n = 119), water (n = 65), biofilms/plants (n = 29) and animals' feces (n = 6) were collected in 17 villages of Zio and Yoto districts of the maritime region in Togo. DNA of M. ulcerans including IS2404 and IS2606 insertions sequences and mycolactone ketoreductase-B gene (KR-B) was detected using real time PCR amplification (qPCR) technique. In parallel, clinical samples of patients were tested to establish a comparison of the genetic profile of M. ulcerans between the two types of samples. A calibration curve was generated for IS2404 from a synthetic gene of M. ulcerans Transposase pMUM001, the plasmid of virulence.
resultsIn the absence of inhibition of the qPCR, 6/219 (2.7%) samples were tested positive for M. ulcerans DNA containing three sequences (IS2404/IS2606/KR-B). Positive samples of M. ulcerans were consisting of biofilms/plants (3/29; 10.3%), water (1/65; 1.7%) and soil (2/119; 1.5%). Comparative analysis between DNA detected in environmental and clinical samples from BU patients showed the same genetic profile of M. ulcerans in the same environment. All these samples were collected in the environment of Haho and Zio rivers in the maritime region.
conclusionThis study confirms the presence of M. ulcerans in the environment of the Zio and Yoto districts of the maritime region of Togo. This may explain partially, the high rates of Buruli ulcer patients in this region. Also, water, plants and soil along the rivers could be possible reservoirs of the bacterium. Therefore, Haho and Zio rivers could be potential sources of infection with M. ulcerans in humans in these districts.
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