It’s pretty much tripled over the last five or six years,’ Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Brett Sutton told reporters on Monday. Cases are also becoming more severe and occurring in new areas, but efforts to control the outbreak have been thwarted because it’s not known how humans become infected. Native and domestic animals, including dogs, cats, possums and koalas, have all developed the disease, but it’s unknown whether they spread it.
Researchers are appealing for government funding so they can figure out how to contain the bacteria, which causes a disease called Buruli ulcer. Most commonly found in tropical Africa and usually associated with stagnant water, it can have devastating impacts on sufferers, including long-term disability and deformity. In the following video, Victorian health authorities warn of flesh-eating ulcer spreading. READ MORE