J Korean Soc Microbiol.  1997 Feb;32(1):47-52.

Detection of M. hominis and U. urealyticum using Polymerase Chain Reaction in Clinical Samples

• Kim EH
• Lee MJ
• Im JA
• Park YS

Abstract

Both Mycoplasma hominis (M. hominis) and Ureaplasma urealyticum (U. urealyticum) are important genital mycoplasmas which are found in the cervix, vagina and the urogenital tracts of females. It has been associated with various disease states including non-gonococcal urethritis, spontaneous abortion, low birth weight and chorioamnionitis. Moreover they can be transmitted up to 40% of infants born to infected mothers. The culture methods which is commonly used for the determination of above mycoplasmas requires special culture media and can take up to 7 days. Recently the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been successfully applied for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, M. hominis and U. urealyticum were determined using PCR in 70 vaginal swabs and 48 urine samples. In a total of seventy vaginal swabs, thirteen (18.5%) and twenty four (34.3%) samples were positive for M. hominis and U. urealyticum, respectively. In forty eight urine samples, M. hominis and U. urealyticum were found in 3 cases (6.3%), respectively. Among vaginal swab and urine samples, one case was found to be coinfectious state. Amplified DNA bands were more frequently found in vaginal swabs than urine samples. This study shows that PCR is a relatively simple, fast and practical tool for the detection of M. hominis and U. urealyticum in a clinical materials instead of culture method.

MeSH Terms

Abortion, Spontaneous
Cervix Uteri
Chorioamnionitis
Culture Media
DNA
Female
Humans
Infant
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
Mothers
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma hominis
Polymerase Chain Reaction*
Pregnancy
Ureaplasma urealyticum
Urethritis
Vagina
Culture Media
DNA