Flesh-Eating Disease Increasing at Alarming Rate in Australia

A flesh-eating disease known as the Buruli ulcer, which is usually found in West and Central Africa, has been increasing at an alarming rate in Australia over the past two years, especially in the state of Victoria.

A report published Tuesday in the Medical Journal of Australia describes the disease as a “worsening epidemic, defined by cases rapidly increasing in number, becoming more severe in nature and occuring in new geographic areas.”

The study also reveals that there were 183 new cases of the disease reported in 2016, the highest number of cases ever reported in Australia’s history. In addition, the number of cases reported in the first 11 months of 2017 (236) is 51 percent greater than the number of cases reported in the same period in 2016 (156).

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