Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection detected by immunofluorescence in patients with certain skin diseases.

The presence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and/or herpes antigens was investigated by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) reactions in exfoliated cells or biopsy specimens from 43 patients with different skin diseases (treatment-resistant cutaneous herpes, genital herpes, acne, urticaria, dermatitis, erythema multiforme, ecthyma contagiosum). Either M. pneumoniae or herpes antigen could be detected in 21 (55.26%) and 12 (31.57%) of the 38 IF-positive cases, respectively, while the associated occurrence of mycoplasma and herpes antigens was observed in 5 (13.15%) of the patients.