Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is a truly unique bacterium! Responsible for mild respiratory infections, it mainly affects children, adolescents, and young adults. Very active in schools and communities, it causes so-called atypical pneumonias: they develop slowly and without high fever. In rare cases, it can lead to extra-respiratory complications, such as neurological or skin damage.

This bacterium is found strictly in humans, its only host, where it slips easily thanks to the absence of a cell wall, giving it an irregular shape very different from the majority of bacteria. This particularity makes it very flexible and above all insensitive to classic antibiotics targeting the wall ! Better still, it can mimic other infections and trigger autoimmune reactions, sometimes complicating diagnosis.

It is easily transmitted from person to person via cough and sneeze droplets, with an incubation period of 1 to 3 weeks. It is a champion of contagion!

Fortunately, there are effective treatments: specific antibiotics that do not target the cell wall. Recovery is rapid, although the cough may persist for a few weeks.

Want an unusual bacteria in your collection? Add the Mycoplasma pneumoniae sticker now!

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PUN: I've got no wall, good luck to y'all!