Aquatic plant communities within waterbodies of West Africa: The potential role of plants in the ecology of Buruli ulcer disease

Numerous studies have associated Buruli ulcer disease with disturbed aquatic habitats; however, the natural reservoir, distribution and mode of transmission of the bacterial pathogen, Mycobacterium ulcerans, remain unknown. To better understand this disease, a large-scale assessment of aquatic waterbodies was initiated to identify potential ecological (abiotic and biotic) relationships that influence the pathogen distribution in the environment and human disease outbreaks. Specifically, we present our survey work on aquatic plant communities from waterbodies in Ghana, Africa (n=78). Our main objectives were to (1) describe plant communities from Ghanaian waterbodies, (2) compare plant communities between waterbodies with variable case endemicity (number of disease cases) and pathogen positivity (number of positive field samples), and (3) determine potential interactions between specific aquatic plants and M. ulcerans. Plant communities were dominated by emergent plant taxa (~80%) compared to floating or submergent plants. Overall plant communities were associated with waterflow and not case endemicity or pathogen positivity. No clear relationships between a specific plant type and the pathogen were detected. Other plant attributes (e.g., structure and location), waterbody attributes (e.g., hydrology), and complex interactions with the surrounding environment could also be important in the ecology of this disease.