Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1449511

Increased macrolide resistance rate of Mycoplasma pneumoniae correlated with epidemic in Beijing, China in 2023

Provisionally accepted
Yujie Chen Yujie Chen 1Xinyu Jia Xinyu Jia 1Xue Ren Xue Ren 1,2Bing Du Bing Du 1Hanqing Zhao Hanqing Zhao 1Yanling Feng Yanling Feng 1Guanhua Xue Guanhua Xue 1Jinghua Cui Jinghua Cui 1Lin Gan Lin Gan 1Junxia Feng Junxia Feng 1Zheng Fan Zheng Fan 1Tongtong Fu Tongtong Fu 1Ziying Xu Ziying Xu 1Zihui Yu Zihui Yu 1Yang Yang Yang Yang 1Shuo Zhao Shuo Zhao 1Lijuan Huang Lijuan Huang 1Yuehua Ke Yuehua Ke 1Ling Cao Ling Cao 1Chao Yan Chao Yan 1*Jing Yuan Jing Yuan 1*
  • 1 Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
  • 2 Peking Union Medical College Graduate School, Beijing, China

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

    We collected respiratory specimens from 128 pediatric patients diagnosed with pneumonia in Beijing in late 2023. Mycoplasma pneumoniae was detected in 77.3% (99/128) patients, with 36.4% (4/11), 82.9% (34/41), 80.3% (61/76) in children aged less than 3 years, 3-6 years, over 7 years, respectively. Mycoplasma pneumoniae was characterized using P1 gene typing, MLVA typing and sequencing of domain V of the 23S rRNA gene. P1 gene type 1 (P1-1) (76.1%, 54/71) and MLVA type 4-5-7-2 (73.7%, 73/99) were predominant. MLVA identified a new genotype: 3-4-6-2. Macrolide resistance-associated mutations were detected in 100% of samples, with A2063G accounting for¬¬ 99% and A2064G for 1%. The positive rate of M. pneumoniae was higher compared to previous reports, especially in children less than 3 years, suggesting a M. pneumoniae epidemic showing a younger age trend occurred in late 2023 in Beijing, China. Higher proportions of macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae, P1-1 and 4-5-7-2 genotype M. pneumoniae indicated increased macrolide resistance rate and genotyping shift phenomenon, which might be attributable to this epidemic. Additionally, complete clinical information from 73 M. pneumoniae pneumonia inpatients were analyzed. The incidence of severe M. pneumoniae pneumonia was 56.2% (41/73). Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia patients exhibited longer duration of fever, with a median value of 10.0 days (IQR, 8.0–13.0), and higher incidence of complications (74.0%, 54/73). However, in this cohort, we found that the severity of M. pneumoniae pneumonia, co-infection, or complications were not associated with M. pneumoniae P1 gene or MLVA types. Clinicians should be aware that patients infected with macrolide-resistant M. pneumoniae exhibited more severe clinical presentations.

    Keywords: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, genotypes, Macrolide-resistance, epidemic, Children

    Received: 15 Jun 2024; Accepted: 22 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Chen, Jia, Ren, Du, Zhao, Feng, Xue, Cui, Gan, Feng, Fan, Fu, Xu, Yu, Yang, Zhao, Huang, Ke, Cao, 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:
    Chao Yan, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
    Jing Yuan, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.