Epidemiological characterization of respiratory tract infections caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae during epidemic and post-epidemic periods in North China, from 2011 to 2016

Abstract

BackgroundMycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) is a commonly causative pathogen for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in humans. The epidemiological features of M. pneumoniae infections during post-epidemic, including age distribution and the seasonality of the patients, are not well investigated.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 7835 consecutive RTIs patients (3852 adults and 3983 children) who visited a teaching hospital, and defined an epidemic (2011–2013) and a post-epidemic period (2014–2016). M. pneumoniae was detected by fluorescence-quantatitive PCR in respiratory samples. Informed consent was obtained by all adults and the legal representatives of patients aged < 18 years, and the study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital (project approval number 10-KE-49).ResultsThe median (IQR) age was 16 (53) years (range < 0–105 years). The M. pneumoniae positive rate was 14.4% (21.2%, epidemic; 6.7%, post-epidemic), with seasonal peaks from late summer to autumn during epidemic, and from fall to winter during post-epidemic period, which was highest in children aged 7–17 years. In epidemic, no statistical difference was found in the positive rates between children and adults among most months (except February, July and August), neither for the positive rates among age groups (P = 0.801). However, in post-epidemic period, significant differences were observed in the positive rates between children and adults in nearly every month (P< 0.05 or P< 0.001, except May), as well as in the positive rates among age groups (P< 0.001). Most of the older patient admissions and all of ICU admissions occurred during the epidemic.ConclusionsDifferent patterns of age distribution and seasonality of M. pneumoniae RTIs between epidemic and post-epidemic periods were reported. Our results suggest that M. pneumoniae should be considered as a possible pathogen in pneumonia patients admitted to the ICU in the setting of an epidemic.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-018-3250-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Annual and seasonal patterns in etiologies of pediatric community-acquired pneumonia due to respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae requiring hospitalization in South Korea

“…In addition, the number of children hospitalized with MP pneumonia in the 2015 epidemic was smaller than that in the 2011 epidemic. These findings were consistent with the results of another study [16]. The reasons for these phenomenon may be associated with exposure to MP in the previous epidemic [7].…”

“…The number of children hospitalized with MP pneumonia was typically highest between October and November. In the previous studies, the peak incidence of MP pneumonia showed a similar pattern to that observed in the present study, regardless of age [14,16]. However, in the 2011 Korean epidemic, the peak rate of hospitalization due to MP pneumonia in children occurred in September, whereas the peak rate in the 2015 epidemic occurred in November.…”

Multiplex tests for respiratory tract infections, direct utility of FilmArray respiratory panel in the emergency department

“…M. pneumoniae was observed in three groups, and the positive rates of the children group and the old adult group are higher than that of group 16 -49 years, in China, M. pneumoniae is reported as one of the most common pathogen of patients with CAP and it is an unexpected result in our study [25,28].…”

Sommergrippe: Mehr als ein Mythos!

“…Qu und Kollegen haben 2011 bis 2016 die Häu gkeit und saisonale Verteilung von respiratorischen Infektionen bei Kindern und Jugendlichen untersucht [14]. Die Diagnose wurde aus respiratorischen Spezimen mit PCR-Nachweis gestellt.…”