The Prevalence of Atypical Pneumonia Caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (P1 gene) in Patients with Respiratory Infections by Culture and Molecular PCR Methods in Tehran, Iran

Atypical pneumonia is an upper and lower respiratory tract infection. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a major cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of atypical pneumonia caused by M. pneumonia by culture and molecular PCR methods in Tehran.

In the present study, 102 samples of throat swab were collected from patients with respiratory infections. All samples were cultured in liquid PPLO Broth And solid PPLO agar media (1% glucose and 20% horse serum). The PCR technique with specific primers was implemented after culture and genome extraction through phenol-chloroform technique.

In this study, 27 (26.47%) colonies of Mycoplasma were isolated on PPLO agar medium. Using specific primers, it was found that 33 samples (32.4%) were positive in terms of Mycoplasma genus and 14 samples (13.7%) were positive for the presence of M. pneumonia.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is a pathogen that causes respiratory tract infections in humans. Molecular PCR method is a quick and sensitive technique that has higher sensitivity and specificity than other methods. The obtained results may contribute to the specific treatment of some patients with symptoms of respiratory infections.