HOUSTON — Some mosquitoes buzzing around parts of Australia could be ferrying dangerous cargo from possums to people: flesh-eating bacteria.
Mycobacterium ulcerans is the microbe behind Buruli ulcer, a disfiguring skin disease that largely occurs across areas of Australia and Africa (SN: 7/17/99). Antibiotics can help ulcers heal completely, but untreated cases can cause scarring, permanent disfigurement and disability.
Humans aren’t the only creatures that can get the disease. In Australia, the country’s native possums — including the common ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) — do too, developing ulcers and shedding the bacteria in poop. The possums are thought to transmit the bacteria to people, and researchers have suspected mosquitoes interacting somehow with infected possums could play a role.
Read the full article here