Cairns Clinical School, College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University, Cairns City, Australia.
College of Public Health, Medical & Vet Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2019 Feb 21;13(2):e0006745. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006745. eCollection 2019 Feb.
Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer (BU). This nontuberculous mycobacterial infection has been reported in 34 countries worldwide. In Australia, the majority of cases of BU have been recorded in coastal Victoria and the Mossman-Daintree areas of north Queensland. Mosquitoes have been postulated as a vector of M. ulcerans in Victoria, however the specific mode of transmission of this disease is still far from being well understood. In the current study, we trapped and analysed 16,900 (allocated to 845 pools) mosquitoes and 296 March flies from the endemic areas of north Queensland to examine for the presence of M. ulcerans DNA by polymerase chain reaction. Seven of 845 pools of mosquitoes were positive on screening using the IS2404 PCR target (maximum likelihood estimate 0.4/1,000). M. ulcerans DNA was detected from one pool of mosquitoes from which all three PCR targets: IS2404, IS2606 and the ketoreductase B domain of mycolactone polyketide synthase gene were detected. None of the March fly samples were positive for the presence of M. ulcerans DNA.
溃疡分枝杆菌是造成溃疡分枝杆菌病（BU）的病原体。这种非结核分枝杆菌感染已在全球 34 个国家报告过。在澳大利亚，大多数 BU 病例都记录在维多利亚州的沿海地区和昆士兰州北部的莫斯曼-丹特里地区。在维多利亚州，蚊子被推测为溃疡分枝杆菌的传播媒介，但这种疾病的具体传播方式仍远未被很好地理解。在目前的研究中，我们从昆士兰州北部的流行地区捕获并分析了 16900 只（分配到 845 个池中）蚊子和 296 只三月蝇，通过聚合酶链反应检查是否存在溃疡分枝杆菌 DNA。在使用 IS2404 PCR 靶标（最大似然估计值为 0.4/1000）进行筛查时，有 7 个 845 个蚊子池呈阳性。从一个蚊子池中检测到了溃疡分枝杆菌 DNA，该池中检测到了所有三个 PCR 靶标：IS2404、IS2606 和 mycolactone 聚酮合酶基因的酮还原酶 B 结构域。没有一个三月蝇样本检测到溃疡分枝杆菌 DNA 的存在。
