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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2008, p. 6547-6553, Vol. 74, No. 21
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01066-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Occurrence of Free-Living Amoebae in Communities of Low and High Endemicity for Buruli Ulcer in Southern Benin{triangledown}

Miriam Eddyani,1* Johan F. De Jonckheere,2 Lies Durnez,1,3 Patrick Suykerbuyk,1 Herwig Leirs,3 and Françoise Portaels1

Mycobacteriology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium,1 Research Unit for Tropical Diseases, Christian de Duve Institute of Cellular Pathology, Brussels, Belgium,2 Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium3

Received 13 May 2008/ Accepted 28 August 2008

Buruli ulcer or Mycobacterium ulcerans disease occurs mainly in areas in proximity to standing or slowly running freshwater, habitats in which free-living amoebae occur. For this reason, a possible link between the habitat of M. ulcerans and free-living amoebae was investigated. Free-living amoebae and mycobacteria were isolated from water and biofilm specimens taken from protected and unprotected sources of water in villages known to have either high or low endemicity for Buruli ulcer in Benin. Amoebae were isolated from 78.8% of samples. A greater proportion of water bodies in areas of high endemicity had amoebae than in areas of low endemicity (83.3% versus 66.7%). Protected sources of water were significantly more likely to contain amoebae in areas of high endemicity than in areas of low endemicity (88.0% versus 11.1%). Several pathogenic free-living amoebae and mycobacteria were isolated. However, no M. ulcerans was isolated and no specimen was positive for IS2404 PCR. Our results show that the study area has a water hygiene problem, which is greater in areas of high Buruli ulcer endemicity than in areas of low endemicity. Our observations indicate that additional studies are required to explore the possible link between free-living amoebae and mycobacteria.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Mycobacteriology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, B-2000 Antwerp, Belgium. Phone: 32-3-247-63-36. Fax: 32-3-247-63-33. E-mail: meddyani{at}itg.be

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 5 September 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 2008, p. 6547-6553, Vol. 74, No. 21
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01066-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Kaser, M., Hauser, J., Small, P., Pluschke, G. (2009). Large Sequence Polymorphisms Unveil the Phylogenetic Relationship of Environmental and Pathogenic Mycobacteria Related to Mycobacterium ulcerans. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 5667-5675 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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