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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Antibiotic Resistance and New Antimicrobial drugs
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1478087

Increased in vitro antimicrobial resistance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae isolates obtained from children in Beijing, China, in 2023

Provisionally accepted
Xinyu Jia Xinyu Jia Yujie Chen Yujie Chen Yagang Gao Yagang Gao Xue Ren Xue Ren Bing Du Bing Du Hanqing Zhao Hanqing Zhao Yanling Feng Yanling Feng Guanhua Xue Guanhua Xue Jinghua Cui Jinghua Cui Lin Gan Lin Gan Junxia Feng Junxia Feng Zheng Fan Zheng Fan Tongtong Fu Tongtong Fu Ziying Xu Ziying Xu Zihui Yu Zihui Yu Yang Yang Yang Yang Shuo Zhao Shuo Zhao Lijuan Huang Lijuan Huang Yuehua Ke Yuehua Ke Chuanhe Liu Chuanhe Liu *Chao Yan Chao Yan *Jing Yuan Jing Yuan *
  • Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a common pathogen of community-acquired pneumonia in school-age children and adolescents, can cause epidemics worldwide. In late 2023, the incidence of M. pneumoniae infection among children reached a high level. Methods: We investigated the in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of 62 M. pneumoniae isolates obtained from children with pneumonia in Beijing between 2021 and 2023, and analyzed the correlation of antimicrobial susceptibility with molecular characteristics of isolates and clinical manifestations of patients. Results: The resistance rates of M. pneumoniae isolates against erythromycin and azithromycin were both 100% (62/62). The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of acetylspiramycin (16-membered macrolides) were lower than those of erythromycin and azithromycin. The MIC for azithromycin in 2023 was notably higher than those in 2021 and 2022. No resistance was observed to tetracycline and levofloxacin. Genotypes P1-1 and P1-2 were identified in 74.2% and 25.8% of isolates, and M4-5-7-2 (61.3%) and M3-5-6-2 (22.6%) were predominant multi-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA) types. The A2063G mutation was present in all isolates (100%). Among the patients, 45/59 cases (23.7%) had severe M. pneumoniae pneumonia, and 14/59 cases (55.9%) presented co-infection. The duration of fever was 12 days (1-30 days) and the fever duration after initiation of macrolide antibiotics treatment was 8 days (1-22 days). Discussion: Our study showed that macrolide resistant M. pneumoniae (MRMP) with high in vitro antimicrobial resistance level may be the causative factor of the M. pneumoniae epidemic in late 2023 in Beijing, China. It is urgent to pay more attention to MRMP and the antibiotics choose.

    Keywords: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Antimicrobial susceptibility, macrolide resistance, Molecular Characteristics, Children

    Received: 09 Aug 2024; Accepted: 26 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Jia, Chen, Gao, Ren, Du, Zhao, Feng, Xue, Cui, Gan, Feng, Fan, Fu, Xu, Yu, Yang, Zhao, Huang, Ke, Liu, Yan and Yuan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Chuanhe Liu, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
    Chao Yan, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
    Jing Yuan, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

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