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More about Mycoplasma Infections:
Definition Causes and symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Prognosis Prevention Resources |
Atypical pneumonias can affect otherwise healthy people who have close contact with one another. Pneumonia caused by M.pneumoniae may start out with symptoms of an upper respiratory infection, probably a sore throat progressing to a dry cough within a few days. Gradually, fever, fatigue, muscle aches, and a cough that produces thin sputum (spit or phlegm) will emerge. Nonrespiratory symptoms may occur too: abdominal pain, headache, and diarrhea; about 20% of patients may have ear pain.
Another mycoplasma species, M. hominis, is common in the mucous membranes of the genital area (including the cervix), and can cause infection in both males and females. Its presence doesn't always result in symptoms.
— Jill S. Lasker
