What is mycoplasma infection?

There are many causes of infection, the most common one is caused by bacteria or viruses, and another is an infection caused by mycoplasma. The clinical manifestations are mainly divided into two types: genitourinary tract infection and respiratory tract infection, and understanding the disease is conducive to better coping. So, what is mycoplasma infection? Let's take a closer look.

Among the pathogenic mycoplasmas, Mycoplasma pneumoniae causes pneumonia, Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Mycoplasma genitalium mainly cause genitourinary tract infections.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is also known as primary atypical pneumonia, mycoplasma pneumonia can occur throughout the year, it is more common in winter, there can be a small epidemic, mycoplasma pneumonia is a common pneumonia in preschool children and young adults, mycoplasma pneumonia is mainly transmitted by droplets, the incubation period is longer, up to 2~3 weeks, although mycoplasma pneumonia has a long course of disease, lung lesions are heavier, and inflammation absorption is slower, but the vast majority of prognosis is good, the pathogen is Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a kind of microbial between bacteria and viruses, no cell wall structure, facultative anaerobic, the smallest microorganism that can live independently. Healthy people inhale the mouth and nasal secretions of patients coughing and sneezing.

The pathogen usually exists between the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract, does not invade the lung parenchyma, and adsorbs to the surface of the host respiratory epithelial cell through the neuraminic acid receptor site on the cell membrane, inhibiting ciliary activity and destroying epithelial cells. There are also few comorbidities, and Mycoplasma genitalium infection is a newly identified sexually transmitted disease in recent years, mainly through sexual contact in adults and through the mother's reproductive tract in newbornsparturitionThe site of infection is in the urethral mucosa in adults and cervix in women, and neonatal infections mainly cause conjunctivitis and pneumonia.

Clinical presentation

1. Genitourinary tract infection

Genitourinary tract infection: the incubation period is 1~3 weeks, the typical acute phase symptoms are similar to other non-gonorrhea genitourinary tract infections, manifested as urethral tingling, different degrees of urgency and frequency, stinging pain, especially when the urine is more concentrated, the urethral opening is mildly red and swollen, the discharge is thin, the amount is small, it is serous or purulent, and the urethra needs to be squeezed hard to see the discharge overflow, often in the morning, there is a small amount of mucous discharge or only a scab seal at the urethral opening, or see the dirty crotch, In the subacute phase, prostate infection is often present, and patients often have perineal pain, backache, and discomfort on the medial thighs of both thighs, or a tingling sensation that radiates from the perineum to the medial thigh when doing levator anal maneuvers.

When the infection spreads to the urethra, frequent urination and urgency are the main symptoms that attract the attention of patients, the infection is confined to the cervix, manifested as increased vaginal discharge, turbidity, cervical edema, congestion or superficial erosion, and the infection extends to the urethra as a manifestation of flushing and congestion of the urethra, and a small amount of secretions can overflow when the urethra is squeezed, but tenderness rarely appears.

2. Respiratory tract infections

The onset is slow, the incubation period is 2~3 weeks, and there is general malaise, fatigue and headache at the beginning of the disease.After 2~3 days, the body temperature often reaches about 39 °C, which can last for 1~3 weeks, and can be accompanied by sore throat and muscle aches.

Cough is a prominent symptom of the disease, generally starting 2~3 days after the disease, at first dry cough, and then turning into intractable severe cough, often with viscous sputum with occasional bloodshots, a few cases can be similar to whooping cough. It can last for 1~4 weeks. Pulmonary signs are often subtle or absent. A few can hear dry and wet music. However, many patches disappear, so the signs are inconsistent with clinical manifestations such as severe cough and fever, which is one of the characteristics of this disease. Infants and young children have a rapid onset, a long course of disease, and a more severe disease, manifested as dyspnea, wheezing, and more prominent stridor sounds, and more pulmonary rales than older children. Some children may have hemolytic anemia, meningitis, myocarditis, Guillain-Leain's syndrome and other extrapulmonary manifestations.