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. 2020 Aug 11;20(1):456.
doi: 10.1186/s12884-020-03147-9.

Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma carriage in pregnant women: the prevalence of transmission from mother to newborn

Avi Peretz  1   2 , Oran Tameri  3 , Maya Azrad  4 , Shay Barak  5 , Yuri Perlitz  3   6 , Wadie Abu Dahoud  7 , Moshe Ben-Ami  3   6 , Amir Kushnir  3   6
Affiliations

Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma carriage in pregnant women: the prevalence of transmission from mother to newborn

Avi Peretz et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. .

Abstract

Background: Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma have been extensively studied for their possible impact on pregnancy, and their involvement in newborn diseases. This work examined Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma carriage among gravidas women and newborns in Israel, as well as associations between carriage and demographic characteristics, risk factors, pregnancy outcomes, and newborn morbidity rates.

Methods: A total of 214 gravidas women were examined for vaginal pathogen carriage through standard culture and polymerase chain reaction assay. Pharyngeal swabs were collected from newborns of carrier mothers. Clinical and demographic data were collected and infected newborn mortality was monitored for 6 months.

Results: Nineteen mothers were carriers, with highest prevalence among younger women. Pathogen carriage rates were 2.32% for Mycoplasma genitalium (Mg), 4.19% for Ureaplasma parvum (Up) and 2.32% for Ureaplasma urealyticum (Uu). Arab ethnicity was a statistically significant risk factor (p = 0.002). A higher prevalence was seen among women residing in cities as compared to villages. Thirteen (68%) newborns born to carrier mothers were carriers as well, with a higher prevalence among newborns of women delivering for the first time, compared to women that had delivered before. Infection rates among newborns were 20% for Mg (p = 0.238), 100% for Up (p < 0.01), and 28.5% for Uu (p = 0.058), with more male than female newborns being infected. No association was found between maternal carriage and newborn morbidity.

Conclusions: Maternal Mycoplasma or Ureaplasma carriage may be associated with ethnicity and settlement type. Further studies will be needed to identify factors underlying these associations and their implications on delivery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare there is no conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Percentages of positive specimens in the study, by pathogen and according to mother/newborns
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Number of infected maternal and newborn specimens
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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