Risk factors for Mycobacterium ulcerans infection, southeastern Australia.

Buruli/Bairnsdale ulcer (BU) is a severe skin and soft tissue disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. To better understand how BU is acquired, we conducted a case-control study during a sustained outbreak in temperate southeastern Australia. We recruited 49 adult patients with BU and 609 control participants from a newly recognized BU-endemic area in southeastern Australia.

Mycobacterium ulcerans infection: factors influencing diagnostic delay.

Objective: To document the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and diagnosis of an outbreak of Mycobacterium ulcerans infection (Bairnsdale or Buruli ulcer [BU]) during the period 1998-2006, and compare delays in diagnosis between residents of endemic and non-endemic regions.

Design And Setting: Retrospective case study of patients identified through infectious disease physicians on the Bellarine Peninsula and the Victorian Department of Human Services notifiable diseases database.

Main Outcome Measures: Description of events leading to diagnosis of BU.