Aquatic invertebrates as unlikely vectors of Buruli ulcer disease.
Buruli ulcer is a necrotizing skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and associated with exposure to aquatic habitats. To assess possible transmission of M. ulcerans by aquatic biting insects, we conducted a field examination of biting water bugs (Hemiptera: Naucoridae, Belostomatidae, Nepidae) in 15 disease-endemic and 12 non-disease-endemic areas of Ghana, Africa. From collections of 22,832 invertebrates, we compared composition, abundance, and associated M. ulcerans positivity among sites. Biting hemipterans were rare and represented a small percentage (usually <2%) of invertebrate communities. No significant differences were found in hemipteran abundance or pathogen positivity between disease-endemic and non-disease-endemic sites, and between abundance of biting hemipterans and M. ulcerans positivity. Therefore, although infection through insect bites is possible, little field evidence supports the assumption that biting hemipterans are primary vectors of M. ulcerans.
Benbow
M Eric
ME
Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA. benbow@notes.udayton.edu
Williamson
Heather
H
Kimbirauskas
Ryan
R
McIntosh
Mollie D
MD
Kolar
Rebecca
R
Quaye
Charles
C
Akpabey
Felix
F
Boakye
D
D
Small
Pam
P
Merritt
Richard W
RW
D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings; D054312:Buruli Ulcer / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission*; D017753:Ecosystem; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005869:Ghana; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D019911:Mycobacterium ulcerans / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014867:Water
D014867:Water