2023-12-04 16:26:17
By Jean Cittone
Published 2 hours ago, Updated 37 minutes ago
The bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae was discovered in 1944 and initially mistaken for a virus because of its very small size. kasto / stock.adobe.com
Infections with this bacteria, which can cause respiratory infections such as atypical pneumonia and sometimes require hospitalization, have been increasing very rapidly in France since the beginning of autumn.
Le Figaro Bordeaux
On November 22, the World Health Organization expressed concern about an increase in respiratory diseases in China. Enough to revive bad memories on an international scale, four years after the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. This resurgence would however not be linked to the appearance of a new pathogen, but to “the general increase in the number of cases of respiratory illnesses due to known pathogens“. Among them, the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniaewhich causes pneumonia in children and young adults, and which, after four years of disappearance in France, is now clearly increasing across the country since October.
In France, the Bordeaux university hospital center (CHU) is particularly at the forefront on this subject. “Our laboratory has had expertise in human mycoplasmas for around thirty years, nationally and internationally.», explains Doctor Cécile Bébéar, head of department of the bacteriology laboratory, which is also a national reference center for sexually transmitted and bacterial infections, like the “cousin» of this bacteria, Mycoplasma genitalium. Good that Mycoplasma pneumoniae does not yet cause a real public health problem, its resurgence is being monitored very closely by the Bordeaux laboratory.
After pneumococcus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the second bacteria most involved in acute community-acquired pneumonia (i.e. which develops outside the hospital environment, generally in people with a normal immune system), representing 30 to 50% of these infections in children. On November 30, Public Health France reported a “increased circulation of this bacteria» in the territory since the beginning of autumn, with a much higher number of cases than at the same period in 2019 and 2022, «reflecting an epidemic situation».
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“Some cases of meningoencephalitis”
For example, between the beginning of October and mid-November, “the number of PCR detections has tripled», testifying to an increase in the presence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, particularly among children under 15 and young adults, with an increase which is currently continuing. “Two hypotheses explain why this bacteria reappears later: it is probably less infectious and less transmissible than certain viruses, and it has a fairly slow multiplication cycle.“, says Doctor Cécile Bébéar. “These elements taken together would explain the later resurgence of this infection.»
As for the more serious forms currently noted, they could be explained by “a loss of population immunity, both in adults and children“. This loss of immunity also explains the overall increase in infections, including mild forms which are the majority. This would result from the implementation of confinements and barrier gestures during the Covid-19 epidemic. These measures, more drastic in China than in the rest of the world, would thus be correlated with the unprecedented number of infections in the country. Although Mycoplasma pneumoniae causes respiratory infections that can lead to “atypical pneumonias“, resistant to certain antibiotics, this bacteria only causes a serious infection “in a small number of cases», specifies Cécile Bébéar.
There is no vaccine against Mycoplasma pneumoniaebut certain specific antibiotics, macrolides, make it possible to treat it well, emphasizes Doctor Bébéar. “Most cases are mild and resolve spontaneously“, recalls the practitioner, but “due to the current scale of the epidemic, we may have more severe forms, with hospitalized patients, and rare cases of meningoencephalitis type infections».
This bacteria is difficult to cultivate in the laboratory, but the Bordeaux University Hospital has this expertise and can in particular carry out research on the resistance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae to macrolides, in order to monitor the evolution of the situation. To reduce the risk of contamination, Public Health France recommends certain barrier gestures: wearing a mask if you have symptoms, washing your hands frequently, ventilating your home and sneezing into your elbow rather than your hands.
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