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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
medicine
Mycobacterium ulcerans Ecological Dynamics and Its Association with Freshwater Ecosystems and Aquatic Communities: Results from a 12-Month Environmental Survey in Cameroon
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Volume 8, No. 5, Article e2879, Year 2014
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Description
Background:Mycobacterium ulcerans (MU) is the agent responsible for Buruli Ulcer (BU), an emerging skin disease with dramatic socioeconomic and health outcomes, especially in rural settings. BU emergence and distribution is linked to aquatic ecosystems in tropical and subtropical countries, especially to swampy and flooded areas. Aquatic animal organisms are likely to play a role either as host reservoirs or vectors of the bacilli. However, information on MU ecological dynamics, both in space and time, is dramatically lacking. As a result, the ecology of the disease agent, and consequently its mode of transmission, remains largely unknown, which jeopardizes public health attempts for its control. The objective of this study was to gain insight on MU environmental distribution and colonization of aquatic organisms through time.Methodology/Principal Findings:Longitudinal sampling of 32 communities of aquatic macro-invertebrates and vertebrates was conducted from different environments in two BU endemic regions in Cameroon during 12 months. As a result, 238,496 individuals were classified and MU presence was assessed by qPCR in 3,084 sample-pools containing these aquatic organisms. Our study showed a broad distribution of MU in all ecosystems and taxonomic groups, with important regional differences in its occurrence. Colonization dynamics fluctuated along the year, with the highest peaks in August and October. The large variations observed in the colonization dynamics of different taxonomic groups and aquatic ecosystems suggest that the trends shown here are the result of complex ecological processes that need further investigation.Conclusion/Perspectives:This is the largest field study on MU ecology to date, providing the first detailed description of its spatio-temporal dynamics in different aquatic ecosystems within BU endemic regions. We argue that coupling this data with fine-scale epidemiological data through statistical and mathematical models will provide a major step forward in the understanding of MU ecology and mode of transmission. © 2014 Garchitorena et al.
Available Materials
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s001.tif
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s002.tif
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s003.tif
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s004.tif
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s005.tif
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s006.tif
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s007.pdf
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s008.pdf
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s009.pdf
https://efashare.b-cdn.net/share/pmc/articles/PMC4022459/bin/pntd.0002879.s010.pdf
Authors & Co-Authors
Garchitorena, Andrés
France, Montpellier
Ird Centre de Montpellier
France, Rennes
Ecole Des Hautes Études en Santé Publique
Cameroon, Yaounde
Centre Pasteur du Cameroun
ROCHE, B.
France, Rennes
Ecole Des Hautes Études en Santé Publique
France, Bondy
Unité de Modélisation Mathématique et Informatique Des Systèmes Complexes
Kamgang, Roger
Cameroon, Yaounde
Centre Pasteur du Cameroun
Ossomba, Joachim
Cameroon, Yaounde
Centre Pasteur du Cameroun
Babonneau, Jérémie
France, Angers
Université D’angers
Landier, Jordi
Cameroon, Yaounde
Centre Pasteur du Cameroun
France, Paris
Institut Pasteur, Paris
Fontanet, A. L.
France, Paris
Institut Pasteur, Paris
France, Paris
Conservatoire National Des Arts et Metiers
Flahault, Antoine
France, Paris
Université Paris Sorbonne Cité
Switzerland, Geneva
L'institut de Santé Globale, Genève
Eyangoh, Sara Irène
Cameroon, Yaounde
Centre Pasteur du Cameroun
Guégan, Jean François
France, Montpellier
Ird Centre de Montpellier
France, Rennes
Ecole Des Hautes Études en Santé Publique
Marsollier, Laurent
France, Angers
Université D’angers
Statistics
Citations: 52
Authors: 11
Affiliations: 9
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1371/journal.pntd.0002879
ISSN:
19352727
e-ISSN:
19352735
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Cohort Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
Cameroon