TY - JOUR AU - Benbow, M. Eric AU - Williamson, Heather AU - Kimbirauskas, Ryan AU - McIntosh, Mollie D. AU - Kolar, Rebecca AU - Quaye, Charles AU - Akpabey, Felix AU - Boakye, D. AU - Small, Pam AU - Merritt, Richard W. T1 - Aquatic Invertebrates as Unlikely Vectors of Buruli Ulcer Disease T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2008 VL - 14 IS - 8 SP - 1247 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Buruli ulcer is a necrotizing skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and associated with exposure to aquatic habitats. To assess possible transmission of M. ulcerans by aquatic biting insects, we conducted a field examination of biting water bugs (Hemiptera: Naucoridae, Belostomatidae, Nepidae) in 15 disease-endemic and 12 non–disease-endemic areas of Ghana, Africa. From collections of 22,832 invertebrates, we compared composition, abundance, and associated M. ulcerans positivity among sites. Biting hemipterans were rare and represented a small percentage (usually <2%) of invertebrate communities. No significant differences were found in hemipteran abundance or pathogen positivity between disease-endemic and non–disease-endemic sites, and between abundance of biting hemipterans and M. ulcerans positivity. Therefore, although infection through insect bites is possible, little field evidence supports the assumption that biting hemipterans are primary vectors of M. ulcerans. KW - Buruli ulcer KW - Mycobacterium ulcerans infection KW - disease vectors KW - macroinvertebrates KW - transmission KW - environmental reservoirs KW - research KW - Ghana DO - 10.3201/eid1408.071503 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/14/8/07-1503_article ER - End of Reference