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. 2022 May;27(19):2100746.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.19.2100746.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae detections before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of a global survey, 2017 to 2021

Patrick M Meyer Sauteur  1 , Michael L Beeton  2 , Søren A Uldum  3 , Nathalie Bossuyt  4 , Melissa Vermeulen  4 , Katherine Loens  5 , Sabine Pereyre  6 , Cécile Bébéar  6 , Darja Keše  7 , Jessica Day  8 , Baharak Afshar  8 , Victoria J Chalker  8 , Gilbert Greub  9 , Ran Nir-Paz  10   11 , Roger Dumke  12 ; ESGMAC–MyCOVID Study Team  13
Collaborators, Affiliations

Mycoplasma pneumoniae detections before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of a global survey, 2017 to 2021

Patrick M Meyer Sauteur et al. Euro Surveill. 2022 May.

Abstract

BackgroundMycoplasma pneumoniae respiratory infections are transmitted by aerosol and droplets in close contact.AimWe investigated global M. pneumoniae incidence after implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) against COVID-19 in March 2020.MethodsWe surveyed M. pneumoniae detections from laboratories and surveillance systems (national or regional) across the world from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 and compared them with cases from corresponding months between 2017 and 2020. Macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae (MRMp) data were collected from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2021.ResultsThirty-seven sites from 21 countries in Europe, Asia, America and Oceania submitted valid datasets (631,104 tests). Among the 30,617 M. pneumoniae detections, 62.39% were based on direct test methods (predominantly PCR), 34.24% on a combination of PCR and serology (no distinction between methods) and 3.37% on serology alone (only IgM considered). In all countries, M. pneumoniae incidence by direct test methods declined significantly after implementation of NPIs with a mean of 1.69% (SD ± 3.30) compared with 8.61% (SD ± 10.62) in previous years (p < 0.01). Detection rates decreased with direct but not with indirect test methods (serology) (-93.51% vs + 18.08%; p < 0.01). Direct detections remained low worldwide throughout April 2020 to March 2021 despite widely differing lockdown or school closure periods. Seven sites (Europe, Asia and America) reported MRMp detections in one of 22 investigated cases in April 2020 to March 2021 and 176 of 762 (23.10%) in previous years (p = 0.04).ConclusionsThis comprehensive collection of M. pneumoniae detections worldwide shows correlation between COVID-19 NPIs and significantly reduced detection numbers.

Keywords: Face masks; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs); personal protective equipment (PPE); pneumonia; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study profile, global survey of Mycoplasma pneumoniae detections, April 2017–March 2021
Figure 2
Figure 2
Global detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, April 2017–March 2021 (n = 30,617)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae at sites that provided single-sample serological data in addition to PCR, April 2017–March 2021 (n = 14,702a)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae testing and detection in different countries across the world, April 2017–March 2021 (n = 784)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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