Serosurveillance of acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection among HIV infected patients with pulmonary complaints in Chennai, Southern India

Summary Background The true seroepidemiology of acute Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in HIV infected individuals is ambiguous. Methods This study examined the serosurveillance of IgM antibodies to M. pneumoniae in HIV infected patients presenting with pulmonary symptoms at a tertiary AIDS care center in Chennai, Southern India, using cold-haemagglutination test and commercial enzyme linked immunosorbent assay in acute serum specimens. Results One hundred HIV infected patients had enrolled in the study; 21 (21%) were positive for M. pneumoniae IgM antibodies by ELISA and 34 (34%) showed evidence of cold hemagglutinins. Conclusion This serosurveillance study reports a 21% prevalence of M. pneumoniae IgM antibody among HIV infected patients with pulmonary symptoms by ELISA and non-specific diagnosis was confirmed in 34% of the cases screened. Determination of cold agglutination titer could be used as a substitute to other expensive procedures in limited resource settings and third-world nations to diagnose M. pneumoniae infections for prompt initiation of therapy, as CAT has been found to be 100% sensitive and 84% specific in the diagnosis of M. pneumoniae infection.