Detection, Characterization, and Molecular Typing of HumanMycoplasmaspp. from Major Hospitals in Cairo, Egypt

Abstract

Mycoplasmas are fastidious slow growing organisms lacking a cell wall and mostly isolated from the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory and genitourinary tracts. There is a dearth of information regarding clinicalMycoplasmaspp. isolates among Egyptian patients. A total of 170 samples were collected from patients and apparently healthy personnel in local public hospitals in Cairo, Egypt. Isolation ofMycoplasmaspp. was carried out using appropriate culture media and further identification was carried out by biochemical tests followed by serotyping using specific antisera. Confirmation was done by PCR for detection of differentMycoplasmaspp. using genus-specific primers targeting 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Characterization of the antibiotic resistance and sensitivity pattern against different antimicrobials was carried out using disc diffusion test. The results indicated the presence of sixMycoplasmaspp. in 22.94% of the samples. Mycoplasmas were detected more frequently in throat swabs than sputum.Mycoplasma pneumoniaewas highly sensitive to macrolides and quinolones but less sensitive to aminoglycosides and tetracyclines. Molecular techniques were found to be of more rapid, highly sensitive, able to detect nonviable organisms, and cost effective. These results shed light on difficulties ofMycoplasmadetection and the superiority of molecular techniques over culture.