A flesh-eating disease has exploded in a popular NSW holiday hotspot amid growing fears it could spread to Sydney and affect millions.
Batemans Bay on the NSW’s south coast has become the new epicentre of a new outbreak of Buruli ulcer, which eats away at skin and soft tissue, according to an urgent warning from infectious diseases experts.
‘Batemans Bay is a new endemic focus of human Buruli ulcer transmission,’ researchers wrote in an article for the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases on Tuesday.
They added: ‘The risk for further spread along coastal NSW is significant.’
Two cases have been detected in the region, which scientists believe are linked to outbreaks in Victoria which has recorded 350 confirmed cases so far this year.
Researchers believe mosquitoes spread the disease from infected possums to humans.
But the incubation time can be up to five months as the Mycobacterium ulcerans bacterium releases a toxin that rots the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue.
A 94-year-old man in Bateman Bay lost one of his fingers to the flesh-eating disease after he injured the ring finger on his left hand when it became trapped in the folding legs of an outdoor table in 2020.
Bateman’s Bay (pictured) on NSW’s south coast has become the new epicentre of a new outbreak of Buruli ulcer, a flesh-eating disease believed to be spread by infected possums
94-year-old man in Bateman Bay lost one of his fingers (pictured) to the flesh-eating disease after he injured the ring finger on his left hand when he injured it on an outdoor table in 2020
The painful and swollen wound progressively opened until doctors discovered the presence of Buruli ulcer.
But it was too late to save the finger and doctors were forced to amputate it to stop the flesh-eating disease spreading further.
The second case in Batemans Bay involved a 71-year-old man who noticed a mosquito bite on his upper right arm in May 2023.
It evolved into a small ulcer but did not respond to a course of antibiotics so he was sent for a biopsy.
Buruli ulcer can normally be treated by a course of strong antibiotics and dressing of the wound.
Scientists also tested possum droppings found near the reported cases and discovered the presence of Buruli ulcer in the samples, adding weight to their theory that the disease is transmitted from the marsupials to humans via mosquitoes.
‘Given the many similarities in wildlife composition and insect presence between coastal Victoria and Eden and Batemans Bay in NSW, it is likely that NSW Public Health authorities are now facing progressive expansion of Buruli ulcer endemic areas and an increase in human infections, just as has been in Victoria,’ the researchers noted.
Researchers said ‘the risk for further spread along coastal NSW is significant’ (pictured, Bondi)
