The Bairnsdale Ulcer Is the New Bug Bite You Really Don’t Want
A scary flesh-eating disease starts out by mimicking a typical bug bite — not to make you paranoid or anything. (Photo: Getty Images)
There’s a disease going around Australia that sounds like a plot line from a horror movie.
People residing Down Under are suffering from a flesh-eating condition called Bairnsdale ulcer, also known as Buruli ulcer. And while this terrifying-looking virus has been around for years, doctors are still unsure exactly where it comes from.
This aggressive infection begins by mimicking a typical bug bite, but then progresses over weeks — even months — into a deep, non-healing wound. Adding to the mystery of this disease, the infection is usually painless and is not accompanied by a fever.
Some experts believe mosquitoes may be the culprit.
“One current theory is maybe it’s spreading in possums and somehow humans get infections indirectly,” stated Professor Paul Johnson, an Austin Health infectious diseases physician and medical researcher, as reported by the Sun. “Maybe they are getting it from possums via mosquitoes. But maybe possums are just victims of it, like humans.”
Right now, here’s what we do know:
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Buruli ulcer as a chronic, debilitating skin disease and soft tissue infection caused by an environmental bacterium (Mycobacterium ulcerans), an organism that belongs to the family of bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and leprosy.
At least 33 countries with tropical, subtropical and temperate climates, including ones in Africa, South America and the Western Pacific, have reported Buruli ulcer — and Australia has recently been added to that list.
The only known remedy involves a combination of oral and intravenous antibiotics. But if this disease is left untreated, extensive surgery or amputation may be required.
Professor Johnson concluded his interview with the Sun — which dubbed this condition “the zombie bug”— by saying that further research is necessary to understand how to stop the infection from spreading to other places.
The WHO states that “preventive measures cannot be applied” since “there is no knowledge of how Buruli ulcer is transmitted.”
Gulp.
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