The Buruli ulcer (also known as the Bairnsdale ulcer or Searl ulcer) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. The genus also includes the causative agents of tuberculosis and leprosy; Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae, respectively. The early stage of infection is characterised by a painless nodule, with non-pyogenic, necrotising lesions developing in the skin, and occasionally in adjacent bone, as the disease ...
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The Buruli ulcer (also known as the Bairnsdale ulcer or Searl ulcer) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. The genus also includes the causative agents of tuberculosis and leprosy; Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae, respectively. The early stage of infection is characterised by a painless nodule, with non-pyogenic, necrotising lesions developing in the skin, and occasionally in adjacent bone, as the disease progresses . M. ulcerans secretes a lipid toxin, mycolactone, which functions as an immune suppressant, necrotising agent and activator of cellular apoptosis in mammalian tissues .
It was first described in 1948 from the Bairnsdale district in south-east Australia. The disease was well known in Africa before this time but the mycobacterium had never been identified. James Augustus Grant, in his book A Walk across Africa, describes how his leg became grossly swollen and stiff with later a copious discharge. This was almost certainly the severe...
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