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Review | Open Access

Overview of the epidemic characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection around COVID pandemic

Hongmei Sun1, Li Xiao2 ( )
Department of Bacteriology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China
Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Show Author Information

Graphical Abstract

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a cell wall‐less respiratory pathogen causing community‐acquired pneumonia and extrapulmonary manifestations. It is transmitted through close contact and shows periodic regional outbreaks. Mp has two major clonal lineages (P1‐1 and P1‐2) and herd immunity switches are thought to be responsible for the subtype shifting every 8–10 years. Extensive usage of macrolides for M. pneumoniae infection treatment caused increased macrolide resistance in M. pneumoniae. The coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic interfered with the global spread of M. pneumoniae and herd immunity against M. pneumoniae diminished. A large‐scale post COVID outbreak is currently ongoing in China and other regions of the world. To help physicians better understand and manage this epidemic, we provide this review summarizing current knowledge on the pathogenesis, epidemic characteristics, macrolide resistance, diagnostic methods, and clinical treatment strategies for this pathogen. Image was drawn by Figdraw (https://www.figdraw.com).

Abstract

Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a cell wall‐less respiratory pathogen causing community‐acquired pneumonia and extrapulmonary manifestations. It is transmitted through close contact and shows periodic regional outbreaks. The coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic interfered with the global spread of M. pneumoniae. A large‐scale post‐COVID outbreak is currently ongoing in China. To help physicians better understand and manage this epidemic, we provide this review summarizing current knowledge on the pathogenesis, epidemic characteristics, macrolide resistance, diagnostic methods, and clinical treatment strategies for this pathogen.

Keywords

diagnosisepidemicgenotypemacrolide resistanceMycoplasma pneumoniaetreatment

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iLABMED
Volume 1 Issue 3,
December 2023
Pages 148-157
DOI: 10.1002/ila2.27
Cite this article:
Sun H, Xiao L. Overview of the epidemic characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection around COVID pandemic. iLABMED, 2023, 1(3): 148-157. https://doi.org/10.1002/ila2.27

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Received: 05 November 2023
Accepted: 13 November 2023
Published: 18 December 2023
© 2023 The Authors. Tsinghua University Press.

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