Incidence of upper respiratory tract Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections among outpatients in Rhone-Alpes, France, during five successive winter periods

In this prospective study, nasal swab samples from patients with acute resp iratory infections were evaluated for the presence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae , This PCR-plus-hybridization-based detection was associated with the detec tion of other viral agents. During the five winter surveillance periods, 3, 897 samples were collected by 75 medical practitioners participating in the Groupe Regional d'Observation de la Grippe surveillance network in Rhone-A lpes (France), M. pneumoniae was detected in 283 samples (7.3%); its rate o f detection ranged from 10.1 to 2.0% over the five periods, and it was the second most frequently isolated pathogen during the survey, after influenza A, Three high-prevalence winters were observed, yielding an early winter p eak of M, pneamoniae infection which was observed in all age groups. No sta tistically significant difference was detected between rates of infections in the different age groups, but M, pneumoniae infection was significantly related to lower respiratory tract infection during periods of high prevale nce, This study defined the frequency of M. pneumoniae detection from nasal swab specimens in patients with acute respiratory infections, confirming i ts high prevalence and the presence of large outbreaks due to this pathogen .