Mycoplasma pneumoniae: what do we know about the bacteria responsible for pneumonia in children? - In the news

2023-11-27 16:36:40

November 27, 2023

The Mycoplasma pneumoniae bacteria is believed to be causing an explosion of respiratory illnesses among children in China. France would not be spared with an increase in cases of pneumonia among those under 15 years old.

On Wednesday, the WHO was concerned about an increase in respiratory diseases in China. The country assured that it was not the emergence of a new pathogen but an increase in cases of influenza, RSV and, more particularly, mycoplasma pneumoniae. This is a bacteria discovered in 1944, responsible for acute respiratory infections.

The numbers are skyrocketing in China, but France is not spared either. “There is an alert in our country. This Tuesday, hospital and private pediatricians informed us of suspicions of mycoplasma pneumoniae. Andreas Werner, pediatric allergist in Gard and president of the French association of outpatient pediatrics, told the daily La Croix last week.

Figures from Public Health France confirm this. From November 13 to 19, SOS Médecins consultations for pneumonia increased by 36% among those under 15 years old. Visits to emergency rooms for the same cause increased by 28%, still among children under 15 years old. These increases are brutal, without comparison with the number of cases in previous years, in 2022-2023 and 2021-2022, at the same period.

Should we be worried?

M. Pneumoniae is transmitted through the respiratory tract via fine droplets, with an incubation period of one to three weeks. Infectious diseases are not very contagious and epidemics are quite rare. These come back every 4 to 7 years. « The cyclical nature of epidemics is favored by the loss of immunity over time after infection and the existence of different genotypes of M. pneumoniae circulating in the population. note in a document published in 2019, the French Society of Microbiology.

The infection first manifests itself as tracheobronchitis, a dragging cough. The evolution is slow and favorable. But this can get complicated in “a picture of primary atypical pneumonia, often progressive, with a febrile syndrome, signs of the ENT sphere and a dry cough”, specifies the French Society of Microbiology. Which adds that the bacteria “even comes first in community-acquired pneumonia in children requiring hospitalization”. The diagnosis is confirmed by carrying out a PCR test in the laboratory. Treatment consists of taking antibiotics such as roxithromycin, azithormycin or clarithromycin. “Not all forms of mycoplasma pneumoniae are serious forms. The associated mortality is low,” says virologist Bruno Lina to BFMTV.

If viral symptoms persist in a child, it is advisable to consult a doctor.

Source : La Croix, November 23, 2023 – Public Health France, weekly bulletins of November 21, 2023 – French Society of Microbiology
Written by : Dorothée Duchemin – Edited by Vincent Roche