Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

    Background & Aim: Mycoplasmas are the smallest bacteria capable of independent growth in artificial media. Mycoplasma hominis is associated with pre-mature birth, rupture of amniotic membranes and post-delivery fever. Ureaplasma urealyticum is similarly associated with chorioamnionitis and low-birth weight infants. Both of these bacteria can easily get transferred into newborns during childbirth leading to pneumonia, meningitis, cerebral abscesses and other complications. This study was conducted in order to survey the prevalence of these two micro organisms in women suffering from genital infections.

Patients and Methods: The study was adescriptive. Endocervical swabs were collected from a total of 205 women with genital tract infections who referred to various hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences in

Tehran. The swabs were placed in PPLO broth transport media and immediately sent to laboratory. Following filtration through 0.45

mm pore-size disposable filters, the filtrates were cultured into Arginine broth and Urea broth. In cases of color change, the broth media were sub-cultured into PPLO agar plates. All media were incubated at 35°C under elevated Co₂ atmosphere.

Results: From the total of 205 endocervical swabs, 64 samples (31.18%) were positive for Ureaplasma urealyticum and 16 samples (7.76%) were positive for Mycoplasma hominis. The highest prevalence of positive cases was among the 29-39 years of age group (34 patients) and belonged to women diagnosed with vaginitis (36 patients).

Conclusion: The results of this survey indicate that the prevalence rate of Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum infections among symptomatic Iranian women is in the intermediate range. Due to fact that the prevalence rates of these infections are probably on the rise, more attention needs to be paid to their role as an important etiologic factor of urogenital infections. Its prompt culture in routine clinical laboratories and immediate treatment should be considered as a health care priority.