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. 2024 Jan;29(2):2300707.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.2.2300707.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae epidemic in Denmark, October to December, 2023

Anne Christine Nordholm  1 , Bolette Søborg  1 , Pikka Jokelainen  2 , Karina Lauenborg Møller  3 , Lotte Flink Sørensen  3 , Tyra Grove Krause  4 , Søren Anker Uldum  5 , Hanne-Dorthe Emborg  1
Affiliations

Mycoplasma pneumoniae epidemic in Denmark, October to December, 2023

Anne Christine Nordholm et al. Euro Surveill. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

We report a surge of patients, especially children and adolescents, with respiratory disease caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Denmark since October 2023. While the surge has reached an epidemic level, no impact on hospital capacity has been observed; only 14% (446/3,195) of cases, primarily adults, required hospitalisation. Macrolide resistance was detected in less than 2% of samples tested. Timely monitoring of hospitalisations linked to M. pneumoniae infections has been established to inform the healthcare system, decisionmakers and the public.

Keywords: M. pneumoniae, surveillance; epidemiology; public health; respiratory infection; resurgence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Weekly number of individuals with a positive Mycoplasma pneumoniae PCR test result and the proportion of patients admitted to a hospital, Denmark, week 21 2015–week 48 2023
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of individuals with a positive Mycoplasma pneumoniae PCR by age and season, Denmark, 2016/17–2023/24 up to week 48 2023
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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