Mycobacterium ulcerans infection: a rediscovered focus in the Capricorn coast region of central Queensland

Abstract

Mycobacterium ulcerans is an environmental pathogen with a global geographic distribution and focal disease clusters. The World Health Organization considers M. ulcerans infection to be of increasing global importance, particularly in West Africa.

In Australia, the clinical and pathological features were fully described in 1948, when the disease was named Bairnsdale ulcer.1 Since then, the number of cases has increased, and new focal areas continue to emerge around southern coastal Victoria.2 In Queensland, the disease is most frequently reported in the Mossman area (north of Cairns in north Queensland), where it is known as Daintree ulcer.3 However, the organism is probably more widely distributed.

We describe four patients recently diagnosed with proven M. ulcerans infection in the Capricorn coast region of central Queensland (Box). The suspected epicentre of infection is around Yeppoon, approximately 1000 km south of Mossman.