MYCOPLASMA INFECTIONS IN CHILDHOOD

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Of the 7 species isolated from man, only Mycoplasma pneumoniae has clearly established pathogenicity. There are various animal diseases caused by mycoplasmas which have counterparts among human illnesses of unknown cause. M. pneumoniae can be associated with a wide spectrum of respiratory tract disease, including bullous myringitis, pharyngitis, tracheobronchitis, pneumonia, and subclinical infections. These are generally mild and occur mostly between ages 5 and 19 years in slowly progressive epidemics. The clinical aspects of the disease are indistinguishable from virus-associated syndromes, and epi-demiologic features are often more suggestive of the diagnosis. Techniques for M. pneumoniae cultivation and serodiagnosis are now adaptable for use in clinical laboratories. Non-specific diagnostic tests, especially cold hemagglutination, have distinctly limited usefulness in pediatrics. M. pneumoniae is sensitive to the tetracycline drugs and erythromycin; administration of these antibiotics shortens the clinical course of disease but may not be effective for prophylaxis or elimination of the carrier state. Vaccines could provide more effective control and are being developed.

This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit: