Application of real-time PCR in Ghana, a Buruli ulcer-endemic country, confirms the presence of Mycobacterium ulcerans in the environment.
This study reports the first successful application of real-time PCR for the detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer (BU), in Ghana, a BU-endemic country. Environmental samples and organs of small mammals were analyzed. The real-time PCR assays confirmed the presence of M. ulcerans in a water sample collected in a BU-endemic village in the Ashanti Region.
Mycobacteriology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium. kvandelannoote@itg.be
Koen
K
Vandelannoote
Lies
L
Durnez
Diana
D
Amissah
Sophie
S
Gryseels
Alfred
A
Dodoo
Shirley
S
Yeboah
Phyllis
P
Addo
Miriam
M
Eddyani
Herwig
H
Leirs
Anthony
A
Ablordey
Françoise
F
Portaels
D000825:Animal Structures / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D054312:Buruli Ulcer / Q000662:veterinary*; D005869:Ghana; D008322:Mammals; D019911:Mycobacterium ulcerans / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D014871:Water Microbiology