Joyce Braam’s thesis offers new insights into the detection of antibiotic resistance of Mycoplasma genitalium† She also found some risk factors for infection with this resistant bacterium. Finally, she studied the improvement in symptoms of men with urethritis infected with M. genitaliumafter antibiotic treatment.
While many pathogenic bacteria can be detected through culture or microscopic examination, M. genitalium too small to see with an ordinary microscope. Moreover, this bacterium is difficult to cultivate. M. genitalium can be found with molecular testing techniques, such as PCR. Braam analyzed two newly designed PCR techniques that demonstrate macrolide resistance in M. genitalium can be determined.
The availability of the new PCR techniques made it possible to identify risk factors for macrolide resistance in M. genitalia vast te stellen† Braam and colleagues found M. genitalium with macrolide resistance very common (66%) in clients of two STI clinics in Amsterdam and The Hague. Macrolide resistant M. genitalium was found more often in men, in higher educated and HIV-positive clients and in clients who had > 10 sexual partners in the previous 6 months. In these groups, according to Braam, it is essential to test for macrolide resistance when a treatment for M. genitalium is being considered.
Bron:
Blackberry JF. To treat or not to treat. Antimicrobial resistant Mycoplasma genitalium. Dissertation, University of Amsterdam, 1 July 2022.
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