Serendipity Grants

Grant category: Serendipity Grants

Year: 2026

Geography: Australia

Buruli ulcer is a severe skin infection caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium ulcerans. Treatment requires weeks of antibiotics and sometimes surgery, leaving patients with disability and scarring. While developing a new diagnostic test, we discovered a virus called 40C-del that infects and kills the Buruli ulcer bacterium very efficiently. This exciting finding suggests that 40C-del might be developed into a new treatment. In this project, we will investigate exactly how 40C-del attacks and destroys the bacterium and test whether combining it with another virus (D29) improves effectiveness. We will also examine whether the bacterium can become resistant and whether the virus remains stable under conditions relevant to future medical use. By the end of the project, we will know whether 40C-del can become a future therapy for Buruli ulcer. This serendipitous discovery could ultimately lead to safer, more targeted treatments for people affected by this neglected tropical disease.