Bacterial diversity among 40 Venous Leg Ulcers

Background: Approximately 1 out of every 100 individuals has some form of venous insufficiency which can lead to chronic venous disease and Venous Leg Ulcer (VLU). There are known underlying pathologies which contribute to the chronic nature of VLU including biofilm phenotype infections. Results : Using pyrosequencing based approaches we evaluated VLU to characterize their microbial ecology. Results show that VLU infections are polymicrobial with no single bacteria colonizing the wounds. The most ubiquitous and predominant organisms include a previously uncharacterized bacteroidales, various anaerobes, Staphylococcus, Corynebacterium, and Serratia. Topological analysis of VLU show some notable differences in bacterial populations across the surface of the wounds highlighting the importance of sampling techniques during diagnostics. Metagenomics provide preliminary indication that there may be protozoa, fungi and possibly an undescribed virus associated with these wounds. Conclusions: The polymicrobial nature of VLU suggest that the future of therapy for such wounds lie in the core of biofilm-based wound care and individualized therapeutics rather than in a single treatment modality