Marsollier Laurent, Robert Raymond, Aubry Jacques, Saint André Jean-Paul, Kouakou Henri, Legras Pierre, Manceau Anne-Lise, Mahaza Chetaou, Carbonnelle Bernard
Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène, CHU, 49033 Angers, France.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2002 Sep;68(9):4623-8. doi: 10.1128/AEM.68.9.4623-4628.2002.
Mycobacterium ulcerans is an emerging environmental pathogen which causes chronic skin ulcers (i.e., Buruli ulcer) in otherwise healthy humans living in tropical countries, particularly those in Africa. In spite of epidemiological and PCR data linking M. ulcerans to water, the mode of transmission of this organism remains elusive. To determine the role of aquatic insects in the transmission of M. ulcerans, we have set up an experimental model with aquariums that mimic aquatic microenvironments. We report that M. ulcerans may be transmitted to laboratory mice by the bite of aquatic bugs (Naucoridae) that are infected with this organism. In addition, M. ulcerans appears to be localized exclusively within salivary glands of these insects, where it can both survive and multiply without causing any observable damage in the insect tissues. Subsequently, we isolated M. ulcerans from wild aquatic insects collected from a zone in the Daloa region of Ivory Coast where Buruli ulcer is endemic. Taken together, these results point to aquatic insects as a possible vector of M. ulcerans.
溃疡分枝杆菌是一种新出现的环境病原体，可在生活在热带国家、尤其是非洲的健康人群中引发慢性皮肤溃疡（即布鲁里溃疡）。尽管有流行病学和聚合酶链反应数据表明溃疡分枝杆菌与水有关，但该病原体的传播模式仍不清楚。为了确定水生昆虫在溃疡分枝杆菌传播中的作用，我们建立了一个用模拟水生微环境的水族箱的实验模型。我们报告称，溃疡分枝杆菌可能通过感染该病原体的水生蝽（仰蝽科）叮咬传播给实验室小鼠。此外，溃疡分枝杆菌似乎仅定位于这些昆虫的唾液腺内，在那里它既能存活又能繁殖，而不会对昆虫组织造成任何明显损害。随后，我们从科特迪瓦达洛亚地区一个布鲁里溃疡流行区采集的野生水生昆虫中分离出了溃疡分枝杆菌。综合来看，这些结果表明水生昆虫可能是溃疡分枝杆菌的一种传播媒介。
