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Curr Trop Med Rep 2018 Dec 3;5(4):228-232. Epub 2018 Aug 3.

Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Denver, CO, USA.

Purpose Of Review: Mycobacterial infections may affect any human organ and produce disseminated disease in immunocompromised individuals. Their most common clinical presentations include pulmonary, cutaneous (skin and soft tissues), and disseminated forms. The skin and soft tissues are frequent targets of affection by mycobacterial pathogens manifesting as localized or diffuse disease. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 Jun 23;21(1):598. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.

Background: Early diagnosis and treatment of Buruli ulcer is critical in order to avoid the debilitating effects of the disease. In this regard, the development of new diagnostic and point of care tools is encouraged. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification for the detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans represents one of the new tools with a good potential of being developed into a point of care test. Read More

Vaccine 2021 Jun 9. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Peter Doherty Institute at the University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. Electronic address:

Buruli ulcer, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, is a neglected tropical disease endemic to over 30 countries, with increasing incidence in temperate, coastal Victoria, Australia. Strategies to control transmission are urgently required. This study systematically reviews the literature to identify and describe candidate prophylactic Buruli ulcer vaccines. Read More

Virulence 2021 Dec;12(1):1438-1451

Univ Angers, Inserm, CRCINA, Angers, France.

is the causal agent of Buruli ulcer, a chronic infectious disease and the third most common mycobacterial disease worldwide. Without early treatment, provokes massive skin ulcers, caused by the mycolactone toxin, its main virulence factor. However, spontaneous healing may occur in Buruli ulcer patients several months or years after the disease onset. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Jun 3;11(1):11746. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, P.O. Box GY, Starkville, MS, 39762, USA.

Buruli ulcer is a neglected tropical disease caused by the environmental pathogen, Mycobacterium ulcerans whose major virulence factor is mycolactone, a lipid cytotoxic molecule. Buruli ulcer has high morbidity, particularly in rural West Africa where the disease is endemic. Data have shown that infected lesions of Buruli ulcer patients can be colonized by quorum sensing bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, S. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 Jun 1;15(6):e0009454. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Background: Buruli ulcer disease (BUD) results in disabilities and deformities in the absence of early medical intervention. The extensive role of caregiving in BUD is widely acknowledged, however, associated caregiver burden is poorly understood. In this paper we assessed the burden which caregivers experience when supporting patients with BUD in Ghana. Read More

RSC Med Chem 2021 Jan 22;12(1):103-109. Epub 2020 Oct 22.

Center for Infectious Disease Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute Seattle Washington 98109 USA

is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer, a debilitating chronic disease that mainly affects the skin. Current treatments for Buruli ulcer are efficacious, but rely on the use of antibiotics with severe side effects. The enzyme dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) plays a critical role in the biosynthesis of folate species and is a validated target for several antimicrobials. Read More

Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 2021 May 26:15353702211015628. Epub 2021 May 26.

West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Disease (WACCBIP), Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Ghana, Accra 0000, Ghana.

produces a macrolide exotoxin, mycolactone which suppresses immune cells activity, is toxic to most cells and the key virulence factor in the pathogenesis of Buruli ulcer disease. Mycolactone is reported to mediate the production of reactive oxygen species in keratinocytes; cells that play critical role in wound healing. Increased levels of reactive oxygen species have been shown to disrupt the well-ordered process of wound repair; hence, the function of wound-healing cells such as macrophages, keratinocytes, and fibroblast could be impaired in the presence of the reactive oxygen species mediator, mycolactone. Read More

J Immunol 2021 Jun 24;206(11):2753-2762. Epub 2021 May 24.

Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, Basel, Switzerland;

Mycolactone is a cytotoxin responsible for most of the chronic necrotizing pathology of disease (Buruli ulcer). The polyketide toxin consists of a 12-membered lactone ring with a lower -linked polyunsaturated acyl side chain and an upper C-linked side chain. Mycolactone is unique to and an immunological Ag capture assay would represent an important tool for the study of Buruli ulcer pathogenesis and for laboratory diagnosis. Read More

Trop Med Health 2021 May 21;49(1):41. Epub 2021 May 21.

The AgroEcoHealth Platform, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), 08 P.O. Box. 0932, Tri-Postal Cotonou, Cotonou, Bénin.

Background: Genotyping is a powerful tool for investigating outbreaks of infectious diseases and it can provide useful information such as identifying the source and route of transmission, and circulating strains involved in the outbreak. Genotyping techniques based on variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) are instrumental in detecting heterogeneity in Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) and also for discriminating MU from other mycobacteria species. Here, we describe and map the distribution of MU genotypes in Buruli ulcer (BU) endemic communities of the Nyong valley in Cameroon. Read More

J Infect Dis 2021 May 4. Epub 2021 May 4.

Equipe ATOMycA, U1232 CRCINA, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), Université de Nantes, Université d'Angers, Angers, France.

Ketogenic diets have been used to treat diverse conditions, and there is growing evidence of their benefits for tissue repair and in inflammatory disease treatment. However, their role in infectious diseases has been little studied. Buruli ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans infection) is a chronic infectious disease characterized by large skin ulcerations caused by mycolactone, the major virulence factor of the bacillus. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2021 Apr 8;21(1):331. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Background: Previous studies have reported that presence and severity of Buruli ulcer (BU) may reflect the underlying immunosuppression in HIV infected individuals by causing increased incidence of multiple, larger and ulcerated lesions. We report cases of BU-HIV coinfection and the accompanying programmatic challenges encountered in central Ghana.

Methods: Patients with PCR confirmed BU in central Ghana who were HIV positive were identified and their BU01 forms were retrieved and reviewed in further detail. Read More

Am J Trop Med Hyg 2021 Apr 5. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

4Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Hôpital de l'Archet II, Nice, France.

Mycobacterium ulcerans, the opportunistic pathogen causing Buruli ulcer, is reported to affect rural populations in 36 tropical countries. We report one case of Buruli ulcer in a peri-urban area in Côte d'Ivoire, confirmed by whole genome sequencing which indicated a M. ulcerans genotype previously unreported in Côte d'Ivoire. Read More

BMJ Open 2021 04 2;11(4):e047530. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Centre for Research on Filariasis and other Tropical Diseases (CRFilMT), Yaounde, Cameroon.

Introduction: The first visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases were reported in Cameroon since more than six decades. However, interest in the disease has decreased over time and data on its epidemiology across the country are scanty. This systematic review aims to update data on what is known and done so far on leishmaniasis in Cameroon. Read More

Acta Pharm Sin B 2021 Mar 13;11(3):738-749. Epub 2020 Nov 13.

State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510530, China.

Buruli ulcer (BU), caused by , is currently treated with rifampin-streptomycin or rifampin-clarithromycin daily for 8 weeks recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). These options are lengthy with severe side effects. A new anti-tuberculosis drug, TB47, targeting QcrB in cytochrome bc1:aa3 complex is being developed in China. Read More

Int J Mycobacteriol 2021 Jan-Mar;10(1):60-65

Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, KNUST, Kumasi, Ghana.

Background: Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease caused by the Mycobacterium ulcerans. BU is an endemic disease in many communities in sub-Saharan Africa where population have long history of using medicinal plants for treatment. Indeed, several medicinal plants have been documented against BU and related conditions. Read More

Immunol Rev 2021 May 7;301(1):222-241. Epub 2021 Mar 7.

Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.

Buruli ulcer is an emerging infectious disease associated with high morbidity and unpredictable outbreaks. It is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, a slow-growing pathogen evolutionarily shaped by the acquisition of a plasmid involved in the production of a potent macrolide-like cytotoxin and by genome rearrangements and downsizing. These events culminated in an uncommon infection pattern, whereby M. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 03 3;15(3):e0009157. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a disabling and stigmatising neglected tropical disease (NTD). Its distribution and burden are unknown because of underdiagnosis and underreporting. It is caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans, an environmental pathogen whose environmental niche and transmission routes are not fully understood. Read More

J Plast Surg Hand Surg 2021 Mar 1:1-6. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

Institut de Chirurgie Reconstructive, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Introduction: Infection by Mycobacterium ulcerans constitutes a neglected tropical disease whose prevalence seems to have overrun those of cutaneous tuberculosis and leprosy. Its aggressivity depends on a mycolactone toxin. Lesions may involve skin, tendon and bone with a large spectrum of manifestations: non-ulcerative (papules, nodules, plaques), ulcerative and oedematous presentations as well as osteomyelitis with muscular contraction and ankylosis. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 02 25;15(2):e0009136. Epub 2021 Feb 25.

Institute for Glycomics, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.

Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of the chronic, necrotizing skin disease Buruli ulcer. Modes of transmission and molecular mechanisms involved in the establishment of M. ulcerans infections are poorly understood. Read More

Trop Biomed 2020 Dec;37(4):973-985

Department of Entomology, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX, USA.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a globally recognized, yet largely neglected tropical disease whose etiologic agent is Mycobacterium ulcerans. Although the exact mode of transmission is unclear, epidemiological evidence links BU incidence with slow-moving or stagnant, aquatic habitats, and laboratory-based experiments have shown disease manifestation in animals with dermal punctures. Therefore, hypotheses for transmission include contact with slowmoving aquatic habitats and associated biting aquatic insects, such as mosquitoes. Read More

Immunol Rev 2021 May 19;301(1):209-221. Epub 2021 Feb 19.

Immunobiology of Infection Unit, INSERM U1221, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.

Mycobacterium ulcerans causes Buruli ulcer, a neglected tropical skin disease manifesting as chronic wounds that can leave victims with major, life-long deformity and disability. Differently from other mycobacterial pathogens, M ulcerans produces mycolactone, a diffusible lipid factor with unique cytotoxic and immunomodulatory properties. Both traits result from mycolactone targeting Sec61, the entry point of the secretory pathway in eukaryotic cells. Read More

PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2021 02 16;15(2):e0009180. Epub 2021 Feb 16.

Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaounde, Cameroon.

Outbreaks of yaws-like ulcerative skin lesions in children are frequently reported in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The origin of these lesions might be primarily traumatic or infectious; in the latter case, Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue, the yaws agent, and Haemophilus ducreyi, the agent of chancroid, are two of the pathogens commonly associated with the aetiology of skin ulcers. In this work, we investigated the presence of T. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Feb 12;11(1):3777. Epub 2021 Feb 12.

IRD, MEPHI, IHU Méditerranée Infection, Aix Marseille Univ., 19-21 Bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseillle Cedex 05, France.

Mycobacterium ulcerans secrete a series of non-ribosomal-encoded toxins known as mycolactones that are responsible for causing a disabling ulceration of the skin and subcutaneous tissues named Buruli ulcer. The disease is the sole non-contagion among the three most common mycobacterial diseases in humans. Direct contact with contaminated wetlands is a risk factor for Buruli ulcer, responsible for M. Read More

Pan Afr Med J 2020 11;37:227. Epub 2020 Nov 11.

Centre de Dépistage et de Traitement de la Lèpre et de l´Ulcère de Buruli de Pobè, Fondation Raoul Follereau, Cotonou, Bénin.

Basidiobolomycosis is a subcutaneous mycosis, for which non-specific clinical presentation can be a source of diagnostic wandering. A 5-year-old girl was brought for consultation with chronic ulcers of the pelvic limbs evolving for 8 months. The lesions started when the girl was 18 months old with a painless, pruritic nodule of the right buttock, indurated placard following progressive extension to the pelvic limbs, back and abdomen, and secondarily ulcerated in several places. Read More

Front Microbiol 2020 14;11:614313. Epub 2021 Jan 14.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States.

Mycobacterial disease is an immense burden worldwide. This disease group includes tuberculosis, leprosy (Hansen's disease), Buruli Ulcer, and non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease. The burden of NTM disease, both pulmonary and ulcerative, is drastically escalating globally, especially in developed countries such as America and Australia. Read More

Germs 2020 Dec 28;10(4):356-366. Epub 2020 Dec 28.

MBBS, MPH, FMCPath, Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, 50, Haile Selassie Street, Abuja, Nigeria.

Introduction: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has overwhelmed health systems globally. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are faced with numerous challenges during the COVID-19 response. In this study, we aimed to describe the experiences of HCWs during the COVID-19 outbreak in Lagos, Nigeria. Read More

PLoS One 2021 20;16(1):e0244581. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Zankli Medical Services Ltd, Utako District, Abuja, Nigeria.

Background: The Lagos State Tuberculosis, Buruli Ulcer, and Leprosy Control Program (LSTBLCP) started engaging private hospitals under the Public-Private Mix (PPM) Program in 2008. The study aimed to evaluate the trend and predictors of successful Tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes of patients managed across these private health facilities between 2010-2016 in Lagos, Nigeria.

Methods: Retrospective review of TB treatment register and treatment cards of patients commenced on TB treatment between January 2010 and December 2016 in 36 private health facilities engaged by the LSTBLCP. Read More

Emerg Microbes Infect 2021 Dec;10(1):223-225

Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho Braga, Portugal.

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a devastating skin mycobacterial infection characterized by extensive cell death, which was previously suggested to be mediated by Bcl2-like protein 11 (BIM, encoded by the gene). We here report the association of genetic variants in with ulcerative forms of the disease in a cohort of 618 Beninese individuals. Our results show that regulation of apoptosis in humans contributes to BU lesions associated with worse prognosis, prompting for further investigation on the implementation of novel methods for earlier identification of at-risk patients. Read More

BMC Microbiol 2021 01 5;21(1). Epub 2021 Jan 5.

Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.

Background: Buruli ulcer (BU) is a skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and is the second most common mycobacterial disease after tuberculosis in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. M. ulcerans produces mycolactone, an immunosuppressant macrolide toxin, responsible for the characteristic painless nature of the infection. Read More