NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN DIAGNOSTIC AND TREATMENT OF MYCOPLASMA-INFECTIONSIN HUMANS

Several methods can be used for the diagnosis of mycoplasmal human inf ections. culture is not satisfactory for fastidious species, while ser ological procedures allow only a retrospective diagnosis. Recently, ra pid methods have become available. Antigenic detection proposed for My coplasma pneumoniae lacks sensitivity. Hybridization based techniques include DNA probes and mainly DNA amplification. The main usefulness o f the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is the detection of fastidious o rganisms such as M. pneumoniae, M. genitalium, M. fermentans, M. penet rans, but PCR can also be used for characterization of the strains for epidemiological purposes, or for detection of antimicrobial resistanc e genes. The major advantage of PCR for detection is its very high sen sitivity. However, until now, the major drawback of this technique has been the lack of commercial kits. When available, they should provide better standardization of the technique and, if available at a reason able cost, become the major technique for the diagnosis of mycoplasma infections. The antibiotics used for the treatment of mycoplasmal infe ctions belong to tetracyclines, macrolides-lincosamides and fluoroquin olones. These products are highly active in vitro against mycoplasmas. However, some of them have a differential activity according to the s pecies, and acquired resistance has been reported, mainly in genital m ycoplasmas. Most of mycoplasmal infections are cured by adapted antibi otics, but they may be difficult to cure in immunosuppressed patients.