The Prevalence of Atypical Pneumonia Caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (P1 gene) in Patients with Respiratory Infections by Culture and Molecular PCR Methods in Tehran, Iran

Background: Atypical pneumonia is an upper and lower respiratory tract infection. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a major cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Objectives: The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of atypical pneumonia caused by M. pneumonia by culture and molecular PCR methods in Tehran. Methods: In the present study, 102 samples of throat swab were collected from patients with respiratory infections. All samples were cultured in liquid PPLO Broth And solid PPLO agar media (1% glucose and 20% horse serum). The PCR technique with specific primers was implemented after culture and genome extraction through phenol-chloroform technique. Results: In this study, 27 (26.47%) colonies of Mycoplasma were isolated on PPLO agar medium. Using specific primers, it was found that 33 samples (32.4%) were positive in terms of Mycoplasma genus and 14 samples (13.7%) were positive for the presence of M. pneumonia. Conclusions: Mycoplasma pneumonia is a pathogen that causes respiratory tract infections in humans. Molecular PCR method is a quick and sensitive technique that has higher sensitivity and specificity than other methods. The obtained results may contribute to the specific treatment of some patients with symptoms of respiratory infections.