Incidence and Sources of Mycoplasma Contamination: A Brief Review

In 1956, Robinson and colleagues (1) reported the first isolation of a mycoplasma from a contaminated cell culture. Subsequently, mycoplasmas have been shown to be common and bothersome contaminants capable of altering the activity of cells and affecting the results of study. Because many of the vaccines prepared for human use are produced in cell cultures and are subject to mycoplasma contamination, the Bureau of Biologics has maintained a continuing study for the past 18 years to examine various aspects of mycoplasma contamination. This report will review some of our findings and present a brief, updated status report on the incidence, prevalence and sources of mycoplasma contamination. The subject has been reviewed in detail elsewhere (2–5).