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Mycoplasma has not reappeared even in the third year after the corona pandemic. The numbers in a new study prove it. The continued absence of this pneumonia pathogen surprised researchers — and sparked speculation.

“The longer it takes, the more exciting it gets,” said study leader Patrick Meyer Sauteur of the Zurich Children’s Hospital on Tuesday at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency.

Before the pandemic, mycoplasma (Mycoplasma pneumoniae) was one of the most common bacterial causes of pneumonia in children. However, with the measures against Covid-19, there has been a drop in broadcasts. According to Meyer Sauteur, this could also be observed for other pathogens. With the exception of the mycoplasma, almost all of these have returned after the measures were lifted.

In a new study in the renowned journal The Lancet Microbe, an international research team led by Meyer Sauteur investigated the question: Have mycoplasmas disappeared forever?

you will come back

Exactly how it will proceed cannot be said with certainty at this time. “But we assume that the mycoplasma will come back,” said Meyer Sauteur. After all, they have not completely disappeared. There are still isolated cases of infection.

But the question is: when? According to Meyer Sauteur, this knowledge is important for hospitals and for the choice of an effective therapy. “Monitoring is the most important thing here,” says Meyer Sauteur.

Global surveillance

Because after three years of absence, immunity in the population also decreased. If the pathogen comes back, it can lead to more and sometimes more serious infections. However, thanks to continuous global monitoring, a rapid response is possible.

However, the exact reason for the continued absence is not clear. The researchers suspect a connection between the slow generation time (six hours; other conventional bacteria about 10-20 minutes) and the slow spread (1-3 weeks incubation time) of mycoplasmas.

(sda)