The Incubation Period of Buruli Ulcer (Mycobacterium ulcerans Infection)

Overview

Buruli Ulcer (BU) is a necrotizing skin infection caused by the environmental organism Mycobacterium ulcerans. Despite an unknown mode of transmission, contact with a BU endemic region is the known key risk factor. In Victoria, Australia, endemic areas have been carefully mapped and patients are known to report single visits or defined exposures to these areas.

From a retrospective review, we identified 23 patients with a single visit exposure to BU endemic regions from a total of 408 notifications of BU in Victoria (2002–2012). We were able to estimate the time from exposure to disease onset, incubation period (IP), via notification record review and telephone questionnaire. The IP of the cohort was subsequently estimated at 4.5 months (Range 1–9 months). An understanding of the IP of BU will be of value to communities, clinicians and government health bodies via aiding clinical risk assessment, epidemiological studies and public health investigations in the future.