Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United States

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant decline in <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> was observed; however, <i>M. pneumoniae</i> re-emerged globally in 2023. Here, we describe a current outbreak of <i>M. pneumoniae</i> infections in the United States (US). More tha...

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Main Authors: Anupama Raghuram, Stephen Furmanek, Thomas Chandler, Salwa Rashid, William Mattingly, Julio Ramirez
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Pathogens
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/1/60
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author Anupama Raghuram
Stephen Furmanek
Thomas Chandler
Salwa Rashid
William Mattingly
Julio Ramirez
author_facet Anupama Raghuram
Stephen Furmanek
Thomas Chandler
Salwa Rashid
William Mattingly
Julio Ramirez
author_sort Anupama Raghuram
collection DOAJ
description During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant decline in <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> was observed; however, <i>M. pneumoniae</i> re-emerged globally in 2023. Here, we describe a current outbreak of <i>M. pneumoniae</i> infections in the United States (US). More than 287 million patient records from all 50 states in the US were reviewed to identify patients with a <i>M. pneumoniae</i> diagnosis between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2024. A c-chart was created by calculating the mean and standard error (SE) of cases during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period, with the upper control limit (UCL) set at 3 SE above the mean. The presence of an outbreak was defined as counts above the UCL. Cumulative excess cases were used to estimate the magnitude of the outbreak, and the fold increase was calculated. A US outbreak of <i>M. pneumoniae</i> began at the end of 2023, resulting in 9708 excess cases corresponding to a 9.0-fold increase over the baseline UCL. The outbreak is ongoing, affects both children and adults, and includes patients with <i>M. pneumoniae</i> community-acquired pneumonia requiring hospitalization. This US outbreak of <i>M. pneumoniae</i> has significant implications for the management of patients with respiratory infections during the current pneumonia season.
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spelling doaj-art-93851afcf886432c83877b367df1e2be2025-01-24T13:44:45ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172025-01-011416010.3390/pathogens14010060Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United StatesAnupama Raghuram0Stephen Furmanek1Thomas Chandler2Salwa Rashid3William Mattingly4Julio Ramirez5Norton Infectious Diseases Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY 40202, USANorton Infectious Diseases Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY 40202, USANorton Infectious Diseases Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY 40202, USANorton Infectious Diseases Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY 40202, USANorton Infectious Diseases Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY 40202, USANorton Infectious Diseases Institute, Norton Healthcare, Louisville, KY 40202, USADuring the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant decline in <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> was observed; however, <i>M. pneumoniae</i> re-emerged globally in 2023. Here, we describe a current outbreak of <i>M. pneumoniae</i> infections in the United States (US). More than 287 million patient records from all 50 states in the US were reviewed to identify patients with a <i>M. pneumoniae</i> diagnosis between 1 January 2017 and 30 September 2024. A c-chart was created by calculating the mean and standard error (SE) of cases during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period, with the upper control limit (UCL) set at 3 SE above the mean. The presence of an outbreak was defined as counts above the UCL. Cumulative excess cases were used to estimate the magnitude of the outbreak, and the fold increase was calculated. A US outbreak of <i>M. pneumoniae</i> began at the end of 2023, resulting in 9708 excess cases corresponding to a 9.0-fold increase over the baseline UCL. The outbreak is ongoing, affects both children and adults, and includes patients with <i>M. pneumoniae</i> community-acquired pneumonia requiring hospitalization. This US outbreak of <i>M. pneumoniae</i> has significant implications for the management of patients with respiratory infections during the current pneumonia season.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/1/60<i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i>respiratory illnessdisease surveillancepneumonia
spellingShingle Anupama Raghuram
Stephen Furmanek
Thomas Chandler
Salwa Rashid
William Mattingly
Julio Ramirez
Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United States
Pathogens
<i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i>
respiratory illness
disease surveillance
pneumonia
title Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United States
title_full Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United States
title_fullStr Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United States
title_full_unstemmed Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United States
title_short Description of a Current Outbreak of <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i> in the United States
title_sort description of a current outbreak of i mycoplasma pneumoniae i in the united states
topic <i>Mycoplasma pneumoniae</i>
respiratory illness
disease surveillance
pneumonia
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/14/1/60
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