Causes of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

When it comes to the disease of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, I believe many friends do not know about it. In fact, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is a type of primary atypical pneumonia, and its symptoms are very obvious. In addition to fever and cough, there are also symptoms such as bloody sputum. In severe cases, it may even threaten our lives. Therefore, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection needs to be treated promptly, but the cause of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection must be clearly understood before treatment.

In fact, the main cause of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is viral infection. In addition, the disease mainly occurs in children and adolescents who have poor resistance. Generally speaking, they can usually recover through reasonable treatment. Below I will give you a detailed introduction to this disease.

Mycoplasma pneumonia is pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumonia, formerly known as primary atypical pneumonia. The onset is slow, with fever, paroxysmal irritating cough, and a small amount of mucous or mucopurulent sputum (occasionally bloody sputum). Pulmonary signs are usually not obvious, but they can easily cause involvement of multiple systems outside the lungs and may also threaten life or death. It is common in children or adolescents, accounting for about 15% to 30% of the total pneumonia cases, and can be as high as 40% to 60% in an epidemic year; the prognosis is generally good, and it is a self-limiting disease.

Causes of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection

The pathogen is Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a microorganism between bacteria and viruses, without a cell wall structure, facultative anaerobic, and the smallest microorganism that can live independently. It is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract. Healthy people are infected by inhaling oral and nasal secretions emitted when patients cough or sneeze. Pathogens usually exist between the ciliated epithelium of the respiratory tract and do not invade the lung parenchyma. They adsorb to the surface of the host respiratory epithelial cells through the neuraminic acid receptor sites on the cell membrane, inhibit ciliary activity and destroy epithelial cells.

Clinical manifestations

The onset is slow, with an incubation period of about 2 to 3 weeks. At the beginning of the disease, patients experience general discomfort, fatigue, and headache. Fever develops 2 to 3 days later, with the temperature often reaching around 39°C and lasting for 1 to 3 weeks, and may be accompanied by sore throat and muscle aches.

treat

Early use of appropriate antimicrobial drugs can alleviate symptoms and shorten the course of the disease. The disease is self-limiting and most cases heal on their own without treatment. Macrolide antibiotics are the first choice, such as erythromycin, roxithromycin and azithromycin. Fluoroquinolones such as levofloxacin, gatifloxacin and moxifloxacin, and tetracyclines are also used to treat Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia. The course of treatment is generally 2 to 3 weeks. Because Mycoplasma pneumoniae has no cell wall, antibacterial drugs such as penicillin or cephalosporin are ineffective. For those who suffer from severe choking and coughing, appropriate antitussive drugs should be given. If secondary bacterial infection occurs, targeted antibacterial drugs can be selected for treatment based on sputum etiology examination.

The disease is self-limiting, and most cases can heal themselves without treatment. The use of appropriate antibacterial drugs can alleviate symptoms and shorten the course of the disease.

Erythromycin is the first choice for treatment, but tetracyclic antibiotics can also be used. Early use of appropriate antibiotics can alleviate symptoms and shorten the course of the disease to 7 to 10 days.

Everyone already knows the causes of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. In fact, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract, and if a healthy person accidentally inhales the patient's cough, it is easier to get sick. Therefore, if you have any suspected symptoms of such a disease, you should seek medical attention immediately.