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Mycoplasma Pneumonia: By: Charles J. Seals

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the smallest known organism that can cause pneumonia. It lacks a cell wall and can appear in various shapes like cocci, rods, or spirals. It is transmitted through aerosol droplets or surfaces and infects the respiratory tract by adhering to and penetrating host cells. Symptoms include dry cough, sore throat, fever and headache. Diagnosis involves physical exam, imaging and culture. Treatment consists of antibiotics like erythromycin or tetracycline for 10 days to 6 weeks. It infects millions annually and prevention focuses on handwashing and covering coughs.

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280 views12 pages

Mycoplasma Pneumonia: By: Charles J. Seals

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the smallest known organism that can cause pneumonia. It lacks a cell wall and can appear in various shapes like cocci, rods, or spirals. It is transmitted through aerosol droplets or surfaces and infects the respiratory tract by adhering to and penetrating host cells. Symptoms include dry cough, sore throat, fever and headache. Diagnosis involves physical exam, imaging and culture. Treatment consists of antibiotics like erythromycin or tetracycline for 10 days to 6 weeks. It infects millions annually and prevention focuses on handwashing and covering coughs.

Uploaded by

Dudlebug12
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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.

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