The Frequency of Infection with Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum among Women with Genital Tract Infection by Multiplex PCR

Mycoplasmataceae are the smallest self-replicating organisms without cell wall. The Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum are associated with genitourinary tract and non-genital infections and could cause complications such as infertility, preterm delivery, itching vagina, abortion. This study designed for rapid detection of Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium and Ureaplasma urealyticum among infected women by Multiplex PCR .
In this cross-sectional descriptive study in a period of 6 months (June to November 2015), 115 vaginal swabs samples were collected from women with genital tract infections referring to diagnostic laboratories in Tehran. All specimens were subjected to Multiplex PCR and cultivation methods. The results and the sensitivity and specificity of test were analyzed by Chi-squared and Independent T tests using SPSS software.
Our results indicated that 38 cases (33%) were positive for Mycoplasma infection by cultivation method while 54 cases (46.9%) were positive by Multiplex PCR method. Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium andUreaplasma urealyticum were detected in 13.9%, 7.8% and 23.4% respectively. In 1.8% we found coinfection that infected by two species. The maximum rate of infection were detected among 30- 42 years old group, that statistically is significant (P= 0.001). The sensitivity of Multiplex PCR method for detection of Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium andUreaplasma urealyticum were 100% while its specificity for them were 96.1%, 97.2% and 92.63% respectively.
Regarding the importance of genital Mycoplasmas among genital infections and their related complications and regarding the difficulty of cultivation method and its low sensitivity, we recommend Multiplex PCR method for their detection. Multiplex PCR method is very sensitive and rapid and its specificity for detection of all genital Mycoplasmas significantly is acceptable.
Iranian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Vol 21 , No 74 , 2016
e
Key words: Mycoplasma hominis, Mycoplasma genitalium ,Ureaplasma urealyticum, Multiplex PCR