Rise of flesh-eating ulcers in Australia’s Victoria state leaves scientists searching for answers

[JacksinPA]

Rise of flesh-eating ulcers in Australia’s Victoria state baffles scientists

Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years. The disease can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfiguration and disability.

www.scmp.com

• Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years
• 
  
• Much is still unknown about the disease, which can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfigurement and disability

Australian property stylist Ali Waight thought she had a mosquito bite when a red welt appeared on her left leg in early 2018. But within days, the mark had “developed into a massive hole”.

What followed was almost a year of fatigue and misery for the 45-year-old, who lives in the coastal town of Point Lonsdale, an hour’s drive south from Melbourne.

“I wasn’t allowed to play with my three kids, I wasn’t allowed to go swimming, go to work, ride my bike, walk the dogs, I couldn’t even walk. It just went on and on and on. It was just debilitating,” she said.
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I just took Australia off my bucket list.

 

[JacksinPA]

Rise of flesh-eating ulcers in Australia’s Victoria state baffles scientists

Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years. The disease can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfiguration and disability.

www.scmp.com

• Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years
• 
  
• Much is still unknown about the disease, which can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfigurement and disability

Australian property stylist Ali Waight thought she had a mosquito bite when a red welt appeared on her left leg in early 2018. But within days, the mark had “developed into a massive hole”.

What followed was almost a year of fatigue and misery for the 45-year-old, who lives in the coastal town of Point Lonsdale, an hour’s drive south from Melbourne.

“I wasn’t allowed to play with my three kids, I wasn’t allowed to go swimming, go to work, ride my bike, walk the dogs, I couldn’t even walk. It just went on and on and on. It was just debilitating,” she said.
====================================================================
I just took Australia off my bucket list.

Buruli ulcer is a disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans. It mainly affects the skin but can also affect the bone. Cases are generally seen in the tropics, primarily in West Africa and Australia. Infection often leads to ulcers on the arms or legs, which can also destroy skin or soft tissue.
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New one on me but there might be an antibiotic solution to this flesh-eating bug.

 

[JacksinPA]

Rise of flesh-eating ulcers in Australia’s Victoria state baffles scientists

Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years. The disease can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfiguration and disability.

www.scmp.com

• Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years
• 
  
• Much is still unknown about the disease, which can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfigurement and disability

Australian property stylist Ali Waight thought she had a mosquito bite when a red welt appeared on her left leg in early 2018. But within days, the mark had “developed into a massive hole”.

What followed was almost a year of fatigue and misery for the 45-year-old, who lives in the coastal town of Point Lonsdale, an hour’s drive south from Melbourne.

“I wasn’t allowed to play with my three kids, I wasn’t allowed to go swimming, go to work, ride my bike, walk the dogs, I couldn’t even walk. It just went on and on and on. It was just debilitating,” she said.
====================================================================
I just took Australia off my bucket list.

There are no known antibiotics to treat this bug. Sounds like a growing problem both in Australia as well as Africa (Uganda). It's a tropical disease. Sounds like an opportunity for a start-up biotech company.

 

[OrphanSlug]

What the ****?

 

[trouble13]

Rise of flesh-eating ulcers in Australia’s Victoria state baffles scientists

Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years. The disease can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfiguration and disability.

www.scmp.com

• Buruli ulcer first emerged in Australia in the early 1900s, but cases have skyrocketed in recent years
• 
  
• Much is still unknown about the disease, which can lead to large open wounds, and if untreated, permanent disfigurement and disability

Australian property stylist Ali Waight thought she had a mosquito bite when a red welt appeared on her left leg in early 2018. But within days, the mark had “developed into a massive hole”.

What followed was almost a year of fatigue and misery for the 45-year-old, who lives in the coastal town of Point Lonsdale, an hour’s drive south from Melbourne.

“I wasn’t allowed to play with my three kids, I wasn’t allowed to go swimming, go to work, ride my bike, walk the dogs, I couldn’t even walk. It just went on and on and on. It was just debilitating,” she said.
====================================================================
I just took Australia off my bucket list.

Wear a mask and you will be fine

 

[lemmiwinx]

When I was growing up we wished all we had to worry about were flesh eating bacteria. Kids today don't know how lucky they are.

 

[JacksinPA]

What the ****?

A flesh-eating bacterium. I think there are others.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

A flesh-eating bacterium. I think there are others.

Necrotizing fasciitis which is ca used by quite a few different bacteria I believe. A Quebec politician lost a leg to it quite a few years ago

 

[TurtleDude]

@Serenity

any insight-you are the best informed person on the board concerning Australian medical issues

 

[Grand Mal]

Wear a mask and you will be fine

Idiocy.

 

[Grand Mal]

@Serenity

any insight-you are the best informed person on the board concerning Australian medical issues

I thought Australian medical issue started with skin cancer and ended with bloody noses.

 

[TurtleDude]

I thought Australian medical issue started with skin cancer and ended with bloody noses.

well I have had both and I haven't 'been anywhere near Australia

 

[nota bene]

When I was growing up we wished all we had to worry about were flesh eating bacteria. Kids today don't know how lucky they are.

While I "liked" your post because I appreciate the humor, I myself am a survivor of both necrotizing fasciitis and necrotizing cellulitis, and reading the OP terrified me. I am very, very lucky to even be alive, much less to have kept my leg. I am forever immunocompromised and, for example, have to do an IV drip of Vancomycin before even an "invasive" dental procedure.

I've fought the good fight since 2005, but someday my luck will run out, maybe just because of a little scratch. So this post is a sober reminder that necrotizing anything is not very funny at all.

 

[JacksinPA]

I thought Australian medical issue started with skin cancer and ended with bloody noses.

Also, having a chunk of you bitten off by a Great White shark. These creatures look at Australian bathers as a free buffet.

 

[lemmiwinx]

While I "liked" your post because I appreciate the humor, I myself am a survivor of both necrotizing fasciitis and necrotizing cellulitis, and reading the OP terrified me. I am very, very lucky to even be alive, much less to have kept my leg. I am forever immunocompromised and, for example, have to do an IV drip of Vancomycin before even an "invasive" dental procedure.

I've fought the good fight since 2005, but someday my luck will run out, maybe just because of a little scratch. So this post is a sober reminder that necrotizing anything is not very funny at all.

Sincerest apologies. Sometimes I respond to something not realizing people are having a serious discussion.

 

[nota bene]

Sincerest apologies. Sometimes I respond to something not realizing people are having a serious discussion.

Thank you very much for being gracious. And I really did appreciate your humor.

 

[Serenity]

Also, having a chunk of you bitten off by a Great White shark. These creatures look at Australian bathers as a free buffet.

A shark attack is an extremely rare occurrence.

Regarding your OP, Buruli Ulcer is not known to be transmitted person-to-person. It is thought to be spread via mosquito bites and puncture wounds and although there has been an increase in cases, it is still relatively rare and it's not seen in all States here. The key is early detection so that it can be treated.

 

[calamity]

Buruli ulcer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The mechanism by which M. ulcerans is transmitted from the environment to humans is not known, but may involve the bite of an aquatic insect or the infection of open wounds.... The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends treating Buruli ulcer with a combination of the antibiotics rifampicin and clarithromycin. With antibiotic administration and proper wound care, small ulcers typically heal within six months. Deep ulcers and those on sensitive body sites may require surgery to remove dead tissue or repair scarred muscles or joints.
Although rare, it typically occurs in rural areas near slow-moving or stagnant water.

 

[ThirdTerm]

Possums are primarily responsible for the spread of the bacteria which has been found in possum feces in affected areas. Buruli ulcer jumps from animals to humans, like the coronavirus which jumped from bats to humans in Wuhan.

There is emerging evidence from Australia that small marsupials (possums and bandicoots) can excrete M ulcerans DNA in their faeces and that possums are themselves susceptible to infection. In temperate Australia, one current hypothesis is that Buruli ulcer in humans is secondary to Buruli ulcer in possums, with humans getting caught up as spillover hosts.9 However, in Africa, no analogous small animal reservoir has been consistently identified, and it is possible that humans with chronic Buruli infections could themselves act as amplifiers and reservoirs of M ulcerans. If true, this is likely to be an indirect result of shedding to the environment because Buruli ulcer does not seem to be directly transmissible between humans.10
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(19)30233-5/fulltext

 

[stevecanuck]

What the ****?

They don't have enough animals that want to kill you, so they have to through in things like flesh-eating ulcers.