MYCOPLASMA

PNEUMONIA

By: Charles J. Seals

 CAUSATIVE ORGANISM
Mycoplasma Pneumoniae

• Smallest known organism

• Lack cell wall

• Free living

• Require Cholesterol

(Cowan & Talaro, 2009)

 MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIAE
Morphology/Arrangement

 Can appear in various shapes:

- cocci
- filamentous rods - spirals
- irregular in arrangement

 Gram Stain
- no reaction
(as cited by Howard, 1999)

(Cowan & Talaro, 2009)

MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIA
Transmission

•Aerosol droplets

•Contact with contaminated

surfaces

•Bacteria remaining airborne

(Gould, 2006)
 LINES OF DEFENSE
• First line of defense
- nasal hairs
- cilia
- mucus

• Second line of defense

- tonsils
- secretory
immuniglobulin A (IgA)

•Third line of defense

- alveolar macrophages
(Cowan & Talaro, 2009)
 VIRULENCE FACTORS
• Adherence to host cells-
possesses attachment organelle at
one end with membrane associated
P1 protein clustered at its tip

• Penetration of the mucus

membrane of respiratory tract
(as cited by Howard, 1999)

• Uses host cell to reproduce

(Winn, Allen, Janda, et al., 2006)

 SIGNS/SYMPTOMS
• Dry cough

• Sore throat

• Fever

• Headache
(Bishop, 2009)

• Muscle aches

• Ear infection
(Cowan & Talaro, 2009)
 DIAGNOSIS
• Physical exam

• Chest x-ray

• Sputum culture

• Blood test

• Lung biopsy (severe only)

(Cowan & Talaro, 2009; Gould, 2006)

 TREATMENT
Minor cases: 3-10 days
• No Treatment

• OTC medications

Severe cases: 10 days – 6 weeks

• Erythromycin

• Tetracycline – warning!

(Gould, 2006; Winn, et al., 2006)

(Fortin, 1999)
STATISTICS/EPIDEMIOLOGY
• Infects anyone

• 2 Million annually

• 20% - 40% community acquired

• 1/5 asymptomatic

(Winn, et al., 2006)

 PREVENTION

• No vaccine

• Hand washing

• Cover face when coughing/sneezing

• STAY HOME !
 REFERENCES
• Bishop, K. (2009). Practical H1N1 prevention. Preparedness Pro. Retrieved on
April 20, 2010 from http://preparednesspro.wordpress.com/category/
disasters/swine-flu-disasters/ .
• Cowan, M.K., & Talaro, K.P. (2009). Infectious diseases affecting the respiratory
system.
Microbiology: A systems approach (2nd ed.) (pp. 649-685). New York, NY: McGraw-
Hill.
• Fortin, D.J.J. (1999). Porcelain veneers: A challenging case. Journal of the
Canadian Dental Association, 65,110-112.
• Gould, B. (2006). Respiratory disorders. Pathophysiology for the health professions
(pp. 362-421). Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier.
• Howard, K. (1999). Mycoplasma pneumoniae: The mystery bug. Retrieved from
s99.middlebury.edu/BI330Aprojects/Howard/Mpneumoniae.html.
• Winn, W., Allen, S, Janda, W., Koneman, E., Procop, G., Schreckenberger, P., Woods,
G.
(2006). Mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas. Koneman’s color atlas and textbook of
diagnostic microbiology (6th ed.) (pp.1022-1063). Baltimore, MD: Lippincott
Williams & Wilkins.