PEDIATRICS Vol. 40 No. 4 October 1967, pp. 669-684
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Clyde, W. A.
Right arrow Articles by Denny, F. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Clyde, W. A., Jr.
Right arrow Articles by Denny, F. W.

MYCOPLASMA INFECTIONS IN CHILDHOOD

Wallace A. Clyde Jr. M.D.1 and Floyd W. Denny M.D.1

1 Department of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Mycoplasmas compose a ubiquitous group of minute microorganisms which include saprophytes, commensals, and pathogens. Of the seven species which have been isolated from man, only Mycoplasma pneumoniae has clearly established pathogenicity. Research continues to seek other possible disease relationships, since 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 illnesses are generally mild and occur most frequently between ages 5 and 19 years in slowly progressive epidemics. The clinical aspects of the disease are indistinguishable from virus-associated syndromes, and epidemiologic 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. For these reasons, vaccines could provide more effective control and are being developed; however, greater experience concerning the relative role of M. pneumoniae among other respiratory disease agents is required before the need for control measures in the general population can be assessed.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Bacteriol.Home page
B. M. Hasselbring, J. L. Jordan, and D. C. Krause
Mutant Analysis Reveals a Specific Requirement for Protein P30 in Mycoplasma pneumoniae Gliding Motility
J. Bacteriol., September 15, 2005; 187(18): 6281 - 6289.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 PediatricsHome page
D. P. McCormick, K. A. Saeed, C. Pittman, C. D. Baldwin, N. Friedman, D. C. Teichgraeber, and T. Chonmaitree
Bullous Myringitis: A Case-Control Study
Pediatrics, October 1, 2003; 112(4): 982 - 986.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
S. L. Orlicek, M. S. Walker, and T. L. Kuhls
Severe Mycoplasma Pneumonia in Young Children with Down Syndrome
Clinical Pediatrics, July 1, 1992; 31(7): 409 - 412.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 CLIN PEDIATRHome page
W. E. Bell, E. V. Riegle, and B. Golden
Erythema Multiforme Exudativum (Stevens- Johnson Syndrome) in Association with Mycoplasma Pneumoniae
Clinical Pediatrics, March 1, 1971; 10(3): 184 - 187.
[PDF]