Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulcerans
Identifying the source reservoirs of Mycobacterium ulcerans is key to understanding the mode of transmission of this pathogen and controlling the spread of Buruli ulcer (BU). In Australia, the native possum can harbor M. ulcerans in its gastrointestinal tract and shed high concentrations of the bact...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2016-06-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/2065.pdf |
| _version_ | 1827606364985229312 |
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| author | Nicholas J. Tobias Nana Ama Ammisah Evans K. Ahortor John R. Wallace Anthony Ablordey Timothy P. Stinear |
| author_facet | Nicholas J. Tobias Nana Ama Ammisah Evans K. Ahortor John R. Wallace Anthony Ablordey Timothy P. Stinear |
| author_sort | Nicholas J. Tobias |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Identifying the source reservoirs of Mycobacterium ulcerans is key to understanding the mode of transmission of this pathogen and controlling the spread of Buruli ulcer (BU). In Australia, the native possum can harbor M. ulcerans in its gastrointestinal tract and shed high concentrations of the bacteria in its feces. To date, an analogous animal reservoir in Africa has not been identified. Here we tested the hypothesis that common domestic animals in BU endemic villages of Ghana are reservoir species analogous to the Australian possum. Using linear-transects at 10-meter intervals, we performed systematic fecal surveys across four BU endemic villages and one non-endemic village in the Asante Akim North District of Ghana. One hundred and eighty fecal specimens from a single survey event were collected and analyzed by qPCR for the M. ulcerans diagnostic DNA targets IS2404 and KR-B. Positive and negative controls performed as expected but all 180 test samples were negative. This structured snapshot survey suggests that common domestic animals living in and around humans do not shed M. ulcerans in their feces. We conclude that, unlike the Australian native possum, domestic animals in rural Ghana are unlikely to be major reservoirs of M. ulcerans. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:36:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-62baca7b564d487badbc39b6ac5df65c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:36:08Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-62baca7b564d487badbc39b6ac5df65c2023-12-03T10:57:03ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592016-06-014e206510.7717/peerj.2065Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulceransNicholas J. Tobias0Nana Ama Ammisah1Evans K. Ahortor2John R. Wallace3Anthony Ablordey4Timothy P. Stinear5Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, AustraliaDepartment of Bacteriology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, GhanaDepartment of Bacteriology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, GhanaDepartment of Biology, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Millersville, PA, United StatesDepartment of Bacteriology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon, GhanaDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, Melbourne, AustraliaIdentifying the source reservoirs of Mycobacterium ulcerans is key to understanding the mode of transmission of this pathogen and controlling the spread of Buruli ulcer (BU). In Australia, the native possum can harbor M. ulcerans in its gastrointestinal tract and shed high concentrations of the bacteria in its feces. To date, an analogous animal reservoir in Africa has not been identified. Here we tested the hypothesis that common domestic animals in BU endemic villages of Ghana are reservoir species analogous to the Australian possum. Using linear-transects at 10-meter intervals, we performed systematic fecal surveys across four BU endemic villages and one non-endemic village in the Asante Akim North District of Ghana. One hundred and eighty fecal specimens from a single survey event were collected and analyzed by qPCR for the M. ulcerans diagnostic DNA targets IS2404 and KR-B. Positive and negative controls performed as expected but all 180 test samples were negative. This structured snapshot survey suggests that common domestic animals living in and around humans do not shed M. ulcerans in their feces. We conclude that, unlike the Australian native possum, domestic animals in rural Ghana are unlikely to be major reservoirs of M. ulcerans.https://peerj.com/articles/2065.pdfMycobacterium ulceransBuruli ulcerqPCREnvironmental sampling |
| spellingShingle | Nicholas J. Tobias Nana Ama Ammisah Evans K. Ahortor John R. Wallace Anthony Ablordey Timothy P. Stinear Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulcerans PeerJ Mycobacterium ulcerans Buruli ulcer qPCR Environmental sampling |
| title | Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulcerans |
| title_full | Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulcerans |
| title_fullStr | Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulcerans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulcerans |
| title_short | Snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural Ghana for Mycobacterium ulcerans |
| title_sort | snapshot fecal survey of domestic animals in rural ghana for mycobacterium ulcerans |
| topic | Mycobacterium ulcerans Buruli ulcer qPCR Environmental sampling |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/2065.pdf |
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