Streptococcus pyogenes is Associated with Idiopathic Cutaneous Ulcers in Children on a Yaws-Endemic Island 1

Two-thirds of infectious skin ulcers in children in the tropics are caused by Treponema pallidum subspecies pertenue and Haemophilus ducreyi; the causes of the remaining ulcers are unknown. To identify additional causes of skin ulcers, we collected DNA from ulcers and the skin of healthy children in Papua New Guinea. We separated the ulcers into groups based on the presence or absence of T. pallidum and H. ducreyi and sequenced the bacterial 16S rRNA genes in the samples. We identified Streptococcus pyogenes to be associated with skin ulcers that did not contain T. pallidum and H. ducreyi and ulcers that failed antibiotic treatment. Our work should improve diagnostic testing and treatment of this painful and debilitating disease of children.*This submission contains data on ulcers, asymptomatic controls, and their respective environmental controls. Follow up ulcers, their environmental controls, and negative controls are part of the the project titled "Streptococcus pyogenes is Associated with Idiopathic Cutaneous Ulcers in Children on a Yaws-Endemic Island 2", as the full dataset surpassed the NCBI sample submission limitation.