Buruli Ulcer (M. ulcerans Infection): New Insights, New Hope for Disease Control e108

Buruli ulcer is a disease of skin and soft tissue caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. It can leave affected people scarred and disabled. What are the prospects for disease control?

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPLoS medicine Vol. 2; no. 4
Main Authors Johnson, Paul DR, Stinear, Timothy, Small, Pamela LC, Pluschke, Gerd, Merritt, Richard W, Portaels, Francoise, Huygen, Kris, Hayman, John A, Asiedu, Kingsley
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published San Francisco Public Library of Science 01.04.2005
Subjects
Disease control
Infections
Infectious Diseases
Medicine in Developing Countries
Microbiology
Neglected Diseases
Pathogens
Public health
Skin
Surgery
Tuberculosis
Ulcers
Vaccines
Benin
Uganda
Ghana
Australia
West Africa
Africa
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Mycobacterium ulcerans
Public Health
Prognosis
World Health Organization
Humans
Africa
Skin Ulcer
Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous
Incidence
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Summary:Buruli ulcer is a disease of skin and soft tissue caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. It can leave affected people scarred and disabled. What are the prospects for disease control?
Bibliography:Paul D. R. Johnson is at the Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Australia, at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and at the Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Timothy Stinear is at the Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Pamela L. C. Small is at the Department of Microbiology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America. Gerd Pluschke is at the Department of Molecular Immunology, Swiss Tropical Institute, Basel, Switzerland. Richard W. Merritt is at the Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, United States of America. Francoise Portaels is at the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. Kris Huygen is at the Department of Mycobacterial Immunology, WIV-Pasteur Institute Brussels, Belgium. John A. Hayman is at the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Kingsley Asiedu is at the Department of Communicable Diseases, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
Competing Interests: PLCS is listed as an inventor on a patent for mycolactone; PDRJ, TS, and PLCS are listed as inventors on a provisional patent for the PKS locus that makes mycolactone. However, any financial benefit that may arise from these patents would be in the field of either cancer medicine (mycolactone may inhibit some cell functions) or combinatorial chemistry, rather than Buruli ulcer.
ISSN:1549-1277
1549-1676
DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.0020108