Mycoplasma genitalium in Spain: prevalence of genital infection and frequency of resistance to macrolides.

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium infection and the resistance to macrolides within a general population in Madrid in 2015.

METHODS

We collected 359 urine samples from a general population with symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). All samples underwent a real-time PCR. For the detection of macrolide resistance, a 283bp fragment of region V of the 23S rRNA gene of M. genitalium was amplified and sequenced.

RESULTS

We found a prevalence of 3.34% of M. genitalium and a macrolide resistance rate of 20%. In males, the prevalence was 6.62% and in women 0.96%, being significantly higher in males.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence obtained shows that it is a pathogen to consider in our environment. These findings stress the need for routine testing of M. genitalium infections and would seem to suggest the advisability of resistance testing.