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In Australia, mosquitoes and possums may spread a flesh-eating disease

Though relatively rare, Buruli ulcer is on the rise Down Under

A photo of a ringtail possum sitting on a tree branch looking down at the camera.

Some mosquitoes in southeastern Australia feed on both common ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus, pictured) and people, providing a link to transmit a flesh-eating disease from the possums to humans.

KarenHBlack/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

HOUSTON — Some mosquitoes buzzing around parts of Australia could be ferrying dangerous cargo from possums to people: flesh-eating bacteria.

Mycobacterium ulcerans is the microbe behind Buruli ulcer, a disfiguring