A Flesh-Eating Infection is Spreading in Melbourne and Experts Don't Know Why

A dangerous flesh-eating infection has continued to spread in Melbourne's south-east, with Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula now a hotspot for the infection.

Cases of the Buruli ulcer—also known as the Bairnsdale ulcer—have been growing in the past 18 months, leading to concern and bewilderment among health officials. The ulcer will often start with painless swelling in the legs, arms, or face. Without treatment, this will turn into an ulcer. In some cases, the infection affects the bone, which can cause serious deformities.

The flesh-eating part comes down to the cause of the Buruli ulcer, an environmental bacterium called Mycobacterium ulcerans. Essentially, this bacterium releases a toxin that suppresses the person's immune system and acts an a "necrotising agent" (i.e. eats the flesh).

No one knows how the Buruli ulcer spreads or why it's still happening in Australia, the only developed country still significantly affected.

Peninsula Health's head of infectious diseases, Peter Kelley, told VICE we do know the infection originates from bacteria in the same family as tuberculosis and leprosy. He also dismissed theories that the virus is being transmitted by mosquitos, which have contracted the virus from infected possums. "They are still just theories," he said.

Dr Kelley also said there's no explanation of why cases of the infection had been spiking in the south-east Port Phillip Bay area lately. "There's been cases in Frankston and Mornington Peninsula since earlier 2000s. But since 2011 numbers have increased significantly and nobody knows why," he told VICE.

The state government also has few answers about why Victorians are being infected by the Buruli ulcer. "We don't know why a tropical virus is showing up in an area with a temperate climate," Health Department spokesperson, Bram Alexander, told the Mornington Peninsula Leader newspaper. "More work needs to be done to figure that out."

According to Dr Kelley, if the infection is identified early it can be treated. There's about an 80 percent success rate with a "two-month course of antibiotics." He also said it was important that health professionals in the area knew this was a growing health concern. Because the Buruli ulcer is fairly rare, a diagnosis can be hard to get.

"All I can say is we just need to increase awareness in local GPs. The key is to pick it up early when they (infections) are still very small lesions," Kelley said. Although the infection is relatively rare, there have already been 42 cases identified this year. In 2015, the number of reported cases in Victoria peaked at 106.