April 6, 2021 — We here at FishOn have always fared better when we’ve lived along a coast somewhere. It probably started at birth (San Diego. Go Padres). But to this day, we get more than 50 miles inland and the whole world seems to be closing in like a fallen tent.
Still, every now and then we come across an item that makes us reconsider the attraction. Let’s go to Sorrento, Australia, for the most recent example.
According to a stomach-churning story in the New York Times, a stretch of the southeastern Australian coastline around Sorrento has become ground zero for a species of flesh-eating bacteria called the Buruli ulcer.
“Buruli ulcer has been reported in 33 countries, primarily in Africa, where a lack of access to health care can mean cases go on for months, sometimes resulting in disfigurement and disability,” the piece stated. “In Australia, where cases of the ulcer have been reported since the 1940s, the recent increase in infections has brought new attention to the neglected disease. That, along with a growing global interest in infectious diseases, has raised hopes that scientists might finally have the resources to crack its code.”
Excellent. CSI Buruli is on the case.