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 in general; a PCR is available

  • Difficult to culture