Epidemiology, clinical features, and laboratory detection of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in East Azerbaijan, Iran

Results: M. pneumoniae infection was detected in 9 (6.15%), 8 (5.3%), and 3 (2.01%) of patients by PCR, ELISA, and culture methods, respectively. M. pneumoniae infection was mostly prevalent in patients 21–80 years old. Most infections (92%) were communityacquired and coughs, fever, dyspnea, and malaise were among the most common symptoms. Conclusion: Pneumonia due to the M. pneumoniae infection is infrequent in Tabriz and the clinical symptoms of the patients were determined to be mild. The PCR method also proved to be more sensitive and reliable than ELISA and culture assays in the detection of M. pneumoniae.