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About the Authors:
John R. Wallace
* E-mail: [email protected] (TPS); [email protected] (JRW)
Affiliation: Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, PA, United States of America
Kirstie M. Mangas
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Jessica L. Porter
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Renee Marcsisin
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Sacha J. Pidot
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Brian Howden
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Till F. Omansen
Affiliations Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Groningen, Groningen, RB, The Netherlands
Weiguang Zeng
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Jason K. Axford
Affiliation: Pest and Environmental Adaptation Research Group, Bio21 Institute and School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic, Australia
Paul D. R. Johnson
Affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
Timothy P. Stinear
* E-mail: [email protected] (TPS); [email protected] (JRW)
Affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0150-123XAbstract
Addressing the transmission enigma of the neglected disease Buruli ulcer (BU) is a World Health Organization priority. In Australia, we have observed an association between mosquitoes harboring the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans, and BU. Here we tested a contaminated skin model of BU transmission by dipping the tails from healthy mice in cultures of the causative agent, Mycobacterium ulcerans. Tails were exposed to mosquito (Aedes notoscriptus and Aedes aegypti) blood feeding or punctured with sterile needles. Two of 12 of mice with M. ulcerans contaminated tails exposed to feeding A. notoscriptus mosquitoes developed BU. There were no mice exposed to A. aegypti that developed BU. Eighty-eight percent of mice (21/24) subjected to contaminated tail needle...