In Australia, a flesh-eating bacterium “Buruli” is believed to have been transmitted from possums and mosquitoes. The flesh eating bacteria is spreading fast across the state of Victoria. The rapid spread is causing a risk with health experts warning that “everyone” is at risk. The health department in Victoria has issued an alert for Buruli Ulcer. The bacterial skin infection is causing some serious issues. The New York Post reported that, this bacteria can damage soft tissue and cause serious disfigurements as well. “Lesions typically present as a slowly enlarging […]
Buruli Ulcer: Flesh-Eating Bacteria Spreads Rapidly Across Australia
In Australia, a flesh-eating bacterium “Buruli” is believed to have been transmitted from possums and mosquitoes. The flesh eating bacteria is spreading fast across the state of Victoria. The rapid spread is causing a risk with health experts warning that “everyone” is at risk.
The health department in Victoria has issued an alert for Buruli Ulcer. The bacterial skin infection is causing some serious issues. The New York Post reported that, this bacteria can damage soft tissue and cause serious disfigurements as well.
“Lesions typically present as a slowly enlarging painless lump or wound which can initially be mistaken for an insect bite,” Victoria’s chief health officer Professor Ben Cowie said. It is also seen that the total amount of cases this year are higher in comparison with the previous ones.
Cowie warned that Buruli Ulcer is spreading across the entire Victorian region. This deadly bacterium is no longer restricted to specific coastal locations.
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It has been detected in regions like Mornington Peninsula, East Gippsland, Westernport, Bellarine Peninsula, and Frankston and Langwarrin. Besides these, several cases have also come up in southeastern bayside suburbs, which include the towns of Breamlea, Torquay, Anglesea, and Aireys Inlet as well as parts of Greater Geelong and the inner-Melbourne areas of Essendon, Moonee Ponds and Brunswick West, among others.
Alerting people that the disease may affect everyone, Cowie said that Buruli Ulcer can occur at any age. People aged 60 years and above are the ones who have the highest chances to get infected.
Buruli Ulcer is a bacterial skin infection that can damage soft tissue and cause serious disfigurements. Moreover as per the Victoria Health Department, summer months have brought along a higher risk of Buruli infections. It usually takes between four-five months for an ulcer to develop after getting the infection.
For now, authorities are suspecting that possums and mosquitoes are the ones transmitting the disease. “The disease is not transmissible from person to person, however, there is evidence that both mosquitoes and possums play a role in disease transmission in Victoria,” Cowie said.
As per a report from The Guardian, till December 17, there have been 344 cases notified this year, compared with the same time in 2023 (362 cases), 2022 (338 cases), 2021 (286 cases), and 2020 (217 cases).
