{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T10:42:53Z","timestamp":1789987373208,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2019,9,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Buruli ulcer is an infectious disease provoking chronic, disabling skin ulcers in mammals and humans. Buruli ulcer is caused by <jats:italic>Mycobacterium ulcerans<\/jats:italic>, an environmental mycobacterium synthesizing a toxin called mycolactone responsible for the pathogenicity. The reservoirs and the modes of transmission of <jats:italic>M. ulcerans<\/jats:italic> remain elusive, limiting the prophylaxis capabilities in rural areas in endemic countries. In Australia, several studies have demonstrated the probable role of possums as reservoirs. In C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, some studies have speculated on the potential role of grasscutters in the transmission cycle of <jats:italic>M. ulcerans<\/jats:italic>. In this study, we detected <jats:italic>M. ulcerans<\/jats:italic>\u2013specific sequences in rectal contents and spleens collected in wild grasscutters hunted in Buruli ulcer\u2013endemic area in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, but not in farmed negative control animals and in domesticated animals, namely, pigs, goats, cattle, and dogs, living in close contact with the local population. Some grasscutters exhibited the same sequence pattern in the feces and spleen. These observations confirm the asymptomatic gut carriage of <jats:italic>M. ulcerans<\/jats:italic> in this mammal species. Moreover, these observations suggest the dissemination of <jats:italic>M. ulcerans<\/jats:italic> from the gut to the spleen in grasscutters. These observations suggest that, in some mammals, <jats:italic>M. ulcerans<\/jats:italic> is not only an inoculated pathogen but also a translocating invasive pathogen.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4269\/ajtmh.19-0137","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2019,7,23]],"date-time":"2019-07-23T07:01:27Z","timestamp":1563865287000},"page":"491-493","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Disseminated Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection in Wild Grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus), C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire"],"prefix":"10.4269","volume":"101","author":[{"given":"Nassim","family":"Hammoudi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"IHU M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"},{"name":"Aix-Marseille-Univ., Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, Microbes, Evolution, Phylog\u00e9nie et Infection, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Agui Sylvestre","family":"Dizoe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Kongouanou Care Center, Yamoussoukro, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire;"},{"name":"National Buruli Ulcer Control Plan, Abidjan, C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sofiane","family":"Regoui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IHU M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"},{"name":"Aix-Marseille-Univ., Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, Microbes, Evolution, Phylog\u00e9nie et Infection, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bernard","family":"Davoust","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IHU M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"},{"name":"Aix-Marseille-Univ., Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, Microbes, Evolution, Phylog\u00e9nie et Infection, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michel","family":"Drancourt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IHU M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"},{"name":"Aix-Marseille-Univ., Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, Microbes, Evolution, Phylog\u00e9nie et Infection, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Amar","family":"Bouam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"IHU M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"},{"name":"Aix-Marseille-Univ., Institut de Recherche pour le D\u00e9veloppement, Microbes, Evolution, Phylog\u00e9nie et Infection, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e Infection, Marseille, France;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2795","reference":[{"key":"b1","series-title":"BMC Genomics","first-page":"258","article-title":"On the origin of Mycobacterium ulcerans, the causative agent of Buruli ulcer","volume":"13","author":"Kenneth","year":"2012"},{"key":"b2","series-title":"Clin Microbiol Rev","first-page":"41","article-title":"Buruli ulcer, a prototype for ecosystem-related infection, caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans","volume":"31","author":"Zingue","year":"2018"},{"key":"b3","series-title":"Lancet Infect Dis","first-page":"288","article-title":"Mycobacterium ulcerans infection: control, diagnosis, and treatment","volume":"6","author":"Sizaire","year":"2006"},{"key":"b4","series-title":"Rev Sci Tech","first-page":"252","article-title":"Mycobacterium ulcerans in wild animals","volume":"20","author":"Portaels","year":"2001"},{"key":"b5","series-title":"Appl Environ Microb","first-page":"4574","article-title":"Terrestrial small mammals as 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ivory coast","volume":"11","author":"Tian","year":"2016"},{"key":"b15","series-title":"Mycobact Dis","first-page":"184","article-title":"Detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in Mastomys natalensis and potential transmission in Buruli ulcer endemic areas in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire","volume":"5","author":"Dassi","year":"2015"},{"key":"b16","series-title":"Thryonomys swinderianus (errata version published in 2017)","first-page":"e.T21847A115163896","author":"Child","year":"2016"},{"key":"b17","series-title":"Appl Environ Microb","first-page":"4733","article-title":"Development and application of two multiplex real-time PCR assays for the detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in clinical and environmental samples","volume":"73","author":"Fyfe","year":"2007"},{"key":"b18","series-title":"PLoS Negl Trop Dis","first-page":"e0006455","article-title":"Molecular detection of Mycobacterium ulcerans in the environment and its relationship with Buruli ulcer occurrence in Zio and Yoto districts of maritime region in Togo","volume":"12","author":"Maman","year":"2018"},{"key":"b19","series-title":"Int J Trop Med","first-page":"e2","article-title":"Clinical and histopathological presentation of Buruli ulcer in experimentally infected grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus)","volume":"3","author":"Addo","year":"2006"},{"key":"b20","series-title":"Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection","article-title":"Buruli ulcer","author":"Asiedu","year":"2000"}],"container-title":["The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and 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