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Mycobacterium ulcerans is a slow-growing environmental bacterium that causes a severe skin disease known as Buruli ulcer. Identification of environmental reservoirs and agents associated with disease transmission is crucial to understanding the risk factors for this emerging infectious disease. Since culture of M. ulcerans from the environment still proves to be problematic, the direct detection of M. ulcerans in environmental samples via PCR has become increasingly important as the research community seeks to elucidate the mode(s) of transmission and environmental reservoir(s) of this elusive organism., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Mycobacterium ulcerans is a slow-growing environmental bacterium that causes a severe skin disease known as Buruli ulcer. Rapid detection of M. ulcerans in clinical specimens is essential for ensuring early diagnosis and prevention of disability. This chapter describes a real-time PCR method for the direct detection of M. ulcerans from a variety of clinical and environmental samples (Fig. 1). Methods for the extraction of DNA from swabs, fresh tissue biopsies, and fixed tissue sections, which are the most common types of specimens used in the diagnosis of Buruli ulcer, are described in Chapter 6 . Chapter 7 describes the appropriate DNA extraction methods for environmental samples including soil, detritus, water, animal feces, and insects, as reliable detection of M. ulcerans in the environment is becoming increasingly important for understanding the ecology and transmission of this elusive pathogen., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Mycobacterium ulcerans is a slow-growing environmental bacterium that causes a severe skin disease known as Buruli ulcer (BU). Rapid detection of M. ulcerans in clinical specimens is essential for early diagnosis so that patients can be treated appropriately as soon as possible. This chapter describes suitable methods for the extraction of M. ulcerans DNA from the most common specimens submitted to the laboratory for confirmation of BU: swabs, fresh tissue biopsies, and fixed tissue sections. The resulting DNA extracts may be used for downstream procedures including standard gel-based PCR and real-time PCR assays. Protocols for direct detection of M. ulcerans DNA by real-time PCR are described in Chapter 8 ., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)