Mycoplasma pneumoniae Infections

Authors:
  • JGJ. Thomas Grayston
    J. Thomas Grayston
  • EAE. Russell Alexander
    E. Russell Alexander
  • GKGeorge E. Kenny
    George E. Kenny
  • ECEdmund R. Clarke
    Edmund R. Clarke
  • JFJoseph C. Fremont
    Joseph C. Fremont
  • WMWilliam A. MacColl
    William A. MacColl
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Abstract
Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Eaton agent) caused a significant amount of acute febrile respiratory disease in Seattle during 1962 and 1963. The agent was isolated from 20% of 215 pneumonia patients and from 7% of 248 patients with febrile respiratory disease without pneumonitis. The highest isolation rate was from persons 10 to 25 years of age and the lowest from children under 5 years old. The pneumonia cases were similar clinically to previous descriptions of cold-agglutinin-positive primary atypical pneumonia. These infections occurred at all seasons of the year and were more frequent in males. A complement-fixation antibody test using a chloroformmethanol solvent-extracted antigen from broth-grown M pneumoniae was found to be highly sensitive and specific. The complement-fixation test is simple and inexpensive and should replace the cold-agglutinin test for routine diagnosis.