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Volume 31, Number 3—March 2025
Synopsis
Epidemiology of Buruli Ulcer in Victoria, Australia, 2017–2022
Bhavi Ravindran
, Daneeta Hennessy, Miriam O’Hara, Ee Laine Tay, Rosalina Sa’aga Banuve, Jodie McVernon, and Kylie Carville
, Daneeta Hennessy, Miriam O’Hara, Ee Laine Tay, Rosalina Sa’aga Banuve, Jodie McVernon, and Kylie Carville
Table 2
Characteristics of BU cases notified to the Victoria Department of Health, by age group and sex, Victoria, Australia, 2017–2022*
| Variable | Age group, y |
Sex |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | 0–15, n = 148† | 16–60, n = 883 | >60, n = 720† | No. | F, n = 781 | M, n = 968 | ||
| Sex | 1,749 | |||||||
| F | 69 (47) | 378 (43) | 334 (46) | NA | NA | |||
| M | 78 (53) | 504 (57) | 386 (54) | NA | NA | |||
| Missing |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|||||
| Lesion location | 1,640 | 1,638 | ||||||
| Upper limb | 19 (13) | 147 (18) | 184 (27) | 169 (23) | 181 (20) | |||
| Lower limb | 120 (84) | 628 (76) | 458 (68) | 524 (72) | 680 (75) | |||
| Multiple | 2 (1.4) | 21 (2.5) | 14 (2.1) | 12 (1.6) | 25 (2.8) | |||
| Other | 2 (1.4) | 28 (3.4) | 17 (2.5) | 24 (3.3) | 23 (2.5) | |||
| Missing |
5 |
59 |
47 |
52 |
59 |
|||
| WHO lesion category | 1,572 (p<0.01) | 1,570 (p<0.05) | ||||||
| I | 116 (83) | 671 (84) | 514 (81) | 599 (85) | 701 (81) | |||
| II | 20 (14) | 88 (11) | 68 (11) | 71 (10) | 105 (12) | |||
| III | 3 (2.2) | 36 (4.5) | 56 (8.8) | 32 (4.6) | 62 (7.1) | |||
| Missing |
9 |
88 |
82 |
79 |
100 |
|||
| Area of residence | 1,751 (p<0.001) | 1,749 (p<0.05) | ||||||
| New | 16 (11) | 90 (10) | 57 (7.9) | 78 (10.0) | 84 (8.7) | |||
| Non–BU-endemic | 58 (39) | 352 (40) | 194 (27) | 244 (31) | 359 (37) | |||
| Established |
74 (50) |
441 (50) |
469 (65) |
459 (59) |
525 (54) |
|||
| Year | 1,751 | 1,749 | ||||||
| 2017 | 27 (18) | 131 (15) | 119 (17) | 132 (17) | 143 (15) | |||
| 2018 | 31 (21) | 173 (20) | 136 (19) | 142 (18) | 198 (20) | |||
| 2019 | 32 (22) | 149 (17) | 118 (16) | 122 (16) | 177 (18) | |||
| 2020 | 11 (7.4) | 102 (12) | 104 (14) | 94 (12) | 123 (13) | |||
| 2021 | 24 (16) | 159 (18) | 101 (14) | 130 (17) | 154 (16) | |||
| 2022 |
23 (16) |
169 (19) |
142 (20) |
161 (21) |
173 (18) |
|||
| Treatment | 1,604 (p<0.05) | 1,602 | ||||||
| Antibiotics | 99 (70) | 600 (75) | 445 (67) | 494 (70) | 650 (73) | |||
| Both | 37 (26) | 141 (18) | 154 (23) | 146 (21) | 184 (21) | |||
| Dressings/other | 5 (3.5) | 43 (5.4) | 42 (6.4) | 43 (6.1) | 47 (5.3) | |||
| Surgical | 0 (0) | 19 (2.4) | 19 (2.9) | 24 (3.4) | 14 (1.6) | |||
| Missing |
7 |
80 |
60 |
74 |
73 |
|||
| Diagnosis delay, d, median (IQR) | 1,542 | 17 (10–36) | 21 (8–46) | 16 (7–38) | 1,540 (p<0.01) | 20 (8–44) | 17 (7–42) | |
| Missing |
17 |
115 |
77 |
92 |
117 |
|||
| First visit delay, d, median (IQR) | 1,500 (p<0.001) | 22 (12–35) | 30 (14–60) | 21 (7–45) | 1,498 | 28 (9–54) | 28 (13–48) | |
| Missing |
18 |
134 |
99 |
109 |
142 |
|||
| Manifestation | 1,614 | 1,612 (p<0.001) | ||||||
| Nonulcer | 40 (28) | 177 (22) | 170 (26) | 203 (28) | 184 (21) | |||
| Ulcer | 101 (72) | 633 (78) | 493 (74) | 514 (72) | 711 (79) | |||
| Missing | 7 | 73 | 57 | 64 | 73 | |||
*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. Percentages exclude missing data. BU, Buruli ulcer; IQR, interquartile range; NA, not applicable; WHO, World Health Organization.
Page created: February 04, 2025
Page updated: February 21, 2025
Page reviewed: February 21, 2025
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