BACKGROUND Ivory Coast is a West African country with the highest reported cases of Buruli ulcer, a disabling subcutaneous infection due to Mycobacterium ulcerans. However, the prevalence of environmental M. ulcerans is poorly known in this country. METHODS We collected 496 environmental specimens consisting of soil (n = 100), stagnant water (n = 200), plants (n = 100) and animal feces (n = 9...