Mycobacterium ulcerans Population Genomics to Inform on the Spread of Buruli Ulcer across Central Africa
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2019-02Author
Vandelannoote, K.Phanzy, D.M.
Kibadi, K.
Eddyani, M.
Meehan, Conor J.
Jordaens, K.
Leirs, H.
Portaels, F.
Stinear, T.P.
Harris, S.R.
de Jong, B.C.
Keyword
Bacterial pathogen transmissionBuruli ulcer
Democratic Republic of Congo
Microbial comparative population genomics
Molecular evolution
Phylogeography
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(c) 2019 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Peer-Reviewed
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Show full item recordAbstract
Buruli ulcer is a neglected tropical disease of skin and subcutaneous tissue caused by infection with the pathogen Mycobacterium ulcerans. Many critical issues for disease control, such as understanding the mode of transmission and identifying source reservoirs of M. ulcerans, are still largely unknown. Here, we used genomics to reconstruct in detail the evolutionary trajectory and dynamics of M. ulcerans populations at a central African scale and at smaller geographical village scales. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data were analyzed from 179 M. ulcerans strains isolated from all Buruli ulcer foci in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Republic of Congo, and Angola that have ever yielded positive M. ulcerans cultures. We used both temporal associations and the study of the mycobacterial demographic history to estimate the contribution of humans as a reservoir in Buruli ulcer transmission. Our phylogeographic analysis revealed one almost exclusively predominant sublineage of M. ulcerans that arose in Central Africa and proliferated in its different regions of endemicity during the Age of Discovery. We observed how the best sampled endemic hot spot, the Songololo territory, became an area of endemicity while the region was being colonized by Belgium (1880s). We furthermore identified temporal parallels between the observed past population fluxes of M. ulcerans from the Songololo territory and the timing of health policy changes toward control of the Buruli ulcer epidemic in that region. These findings suggest that an intervention based on detecting and treating human cases in an area of endemicity might be sufficient to break disease transmission chains, irrespective of other reservoirs of the bacterium.Version
Published versionCitation
Vandelannoote K, Phanzu DM, Kibadi K et al (2019) Mycobacterium ulcerans Population Genomics To Inform on the Spread of Buruli Ulcer across Central Africa. Msphere. 4(1): e00472-18.Link to Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00472-18Type
Articleae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
https://doi.org/10.1128/mSphere.00472-18