[Laboratory diagnosis of human Mycoplasma infection]

The paper shows that aggregate hemagglutination reaction, enzyme immunoassays, and passive hemagglutination may be used in the laboratory diagnosis of Mycoplasma-induced infections. In patients with respiratory diseases of unknown origin, the M. pneumoniae antigen is easiest detected in the first days of the disease, then a long-term persistence of antigens as part of circulating immune complexes is frequently seen. An examination of patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis has indicated that 26.7% exhibit M. arthritidis or M. fermentans antigens, 16.3% display associations of these two types of mycoplasma. The disease in immunocomplex: the mycoplasma antigens circulate as part of immune complexes long in 80%. In females with urogenital abnormality, serum tests have shown U. urealyticum and M. hominis in 83.6%, the patients having inflammatory diseases of unknown etiology.