Mycoplasma pneumonia

Precautions

Droplet / Contact Precautions
Droplet / Contact Precautions

General Information

Pathogen information

Fastidious short rod that does not Gram stain - an "atypical".

Epidemiology

Particularly common in school-aged children and other crowded environments such as college and military institutions.

Associated syndromes

  • Atypical pneumonia

Post-infectious syndromes from antibodies include:

  • Hemolysis from cold agglutinins

  • Rash

  • Encephalitis

  • Arthritis

  • Rarely cardiac involvement

Additional Information

  • Diagnose by serology or PCR of respiratory tract specimens.

  • Difficult to culture.