Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum in women of reproductive age

  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To determine the incidence of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum (UP) in symptomatic and asymptomatic women of reproductive age and to estimate antibiotic susceptibility of ureaplasma isolates.

Materials and methods

This study included 424 ureaplasma positive women of 1,370 tested women who visited gynecological practices during 2010. Cervicovaginal or urethral swab specimens from each patient were obtained for cultivation and molecular typing by RT-PCR.

Results

Ureaplasma spp. was identified by cultivation in 424 (34.4 %) cases, of which 79.0 % were from women with symptoms and 21.0 % from women without symptoms. Among ureaplasma positive women, 121 (28.5 %) were pregnant. Genotyping was successful in 244 strains, and the majority of samples were identified as UP (92.6 %). Among genotyped isolates, there were 79.5 % from symptomatic and 20.5 % from asymptomatic women; 29.9 % from pregnant and 70.1 % from non-pregnant women. There was no difference in the incidence of ureaplasma type regarding symptoms. Antibiotic susceptibility of 424 ureaplasma isolates identified by cultivation showed that all strains were susceptible to doxycycline, josamycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, clarithromycin and pristinamycin, but there was lower susceptibility to quinolone antibiotics, i.e., 42.9 and 24.5 % isolates were susceptible to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, respectively.

Conclusion

This study shows that UP was the most frequent isolated ureaplasma species (92.6 %). Regarding antibiotic susceptibility, quinolones are not the best choice for the treatment of ureaplasma infections, while macrolides and tetracyclines are still effective.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Waites KB, Taylor-Robinson D (2011) Mycoplasma and ureaplasma. In: Versalovic J, Carroll KC, Funke G, Jorgensen JH, Landry ML (eds) Manual of clinical microbiology, 10th edn. ASM Press, Washington DC, pp 974–985

    Google Scholar 

  2. Cassell GH, Waites KB, Watson HL, Crouse DT, Harasawa R (1993) Ureaplasma urealyticum intrauterine infection: role in prematurity and disease in newborns. Clin Microbiol Rev 6:69–87

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Waites KB, Katz B, Schelonka RL (2005) Mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas as neonatal pathogens. Clin Microbiol Rev 18:757–789. doi:10.1128/CMR.18.4.757-789.2005

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Taylor-Robinson D, Bébéar C (1997) Antibiotic susceptibilities of mycoplasmas and treatment of mycoplasmal infections. J Antimicrob Chemother 40:622–630. doi:10.1093/jac/40.5.622

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Glass JI, Lefkowitz EJ, Glass JS, Heiner CR, Chen EY et al (2000) The complete sequence of the mucosal pathogen Ureaplasma urealyticum. Nature 407:757–762. doi:10.1038/35037619

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhang W, Wu Y, Yin W, Yu M (2002) Study of isolation of fluoroquinolone-resistant Ureaplasma urealyticum and identification of mutant sites. Chin Med J 115:1573–1575

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Daxboeck F, Zitta S, Stadler M, Iro E, Krause R (2005) Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in patients with sterile pyuria. J Infect 51:54–58. doi:10.1016/j.jinf.2004.06.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Witt A, Berger A, Gruber CJ, Petricevic L, Apfalter P et al (2005) Increased intrauterine frequency of Ureaplasma urealyticum in women with preterm labor and preterm premature rupture of the membranes and subsequent cesarean delivery. Am J Obstet Gynecol 193:1663–1669. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2005.03.067

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Pararas MV, Skevaki CL, Kafetzis DA (2006) Preterm birth due to maternal infection: causative pathogens and modes of prevention. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 25:562–569. doi:10.1007/s10096-006-0190-3

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Clegg A, Passey M, Yoannes M, Michael A (1997) High rates of genital mycoplasma infection in the highlands of Papua New Guinea determined both by culture and by a commercial detection kit. J Clin Microbiol 35:197–200

    CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Robertson JA, Stemke GW, Davis JW, Harasawa R, Thirkell D et al (2002) Proposal of Ureaplasma parvum sp. nov. and emended description of Ureaplasma urealyticum (Shepard et al. 1974) Robertson et al. 2001. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 52:587–597

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Mallard K, Schopfer K, Bodmer T (2005) Development of real-time PCR for the differential detection and quantification of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum. J Microbiol Methods 60:13–19. doi:10.1016/j.mimet.2004.08.005

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Kilic D, Basar MM, Kaygusuz S, Yilmaz E, Basar H et al (2004) Prevalence and treatment of Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, and Mycoplasma hominis in patients with non-gonococcal urethritis. Jpn J Infect Dis 57:17–20

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Xie X, Zhang J (2006) Trends in the rates of resistance of Ureaplasma urealyticum to antibiotics and identification of the mutation site in the quinolone resistance-determining region in Chinese patients. FEMS Microbiol Lett 259:181–186. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00239.x

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Airell A, Ottosson L, Bygdeman SM, Carlberg H, Lidbrink P et al (2000) Chlamydia trachomatis PCR (Cobas Amplicor) in women: endocervical specimen transported in a specimen of urine versus endocervical and urethral specimens in 2-SP medium versus urine specimen only. Int J STD AIDS 11:651–658

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Zdrodowska-Stefanow B, Kłosowska WM, Ostaszewska-Puchalska I, Bułhak-Kozioł V, Kotowicz B (2006) Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis infection in women with urogenital diseases. Adv Med Sci 51:250–253

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Kechagia N, Bersimis S, Chatzipanagiotou S (2008) Incidence and antimicrobial susceptibilities of genital mycoplasmas in outpatient women with clinical vaginitis in Athens, Greece. J Antimicrob Chemother 62:122–125. doi:10.1093/jac/dkn158

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Ekiel AM, Friedek DA, Romanik MK, Jóźwiak J, Martirosian G (2009) Occurrence of Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum in women with cervical dysplasia in Katowice, Poland. J Korean Med Sci 24:1177–1181. doi:10.3346/jkms.2009.24.6.1177

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Xiao L, Glass JI, Paralanov V, Yooseph S, Cassell GH et al (2010) Detection and characterization of human ureaplasma species and serovars by real-time PCR. J Clin Microbiol 48:2715–2723. doi:10.1128/JCM.01877-09

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Tang J, Zhou L, Liu X, Zhang C, Zhao Y et al (2011) Novel multiplex real-time PCR system using the SNP technology for the simultaneous diagnosis of Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum and genetic typing of serovars of C. trachomatis and U. parvum in NGU. Mol Cell Probes 25:55–59. doi:10.1016/j.mcp.2010.12.001

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Kacerovský M, Boudys L (2008) Preterm premature rupture of membranes and Ureaplasma urealyticum. Ceska Gynekol 73:154–159

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Beeton ML, Chalker VJ, Kotecha S, Spiller OB (2009) Comparison of full gyrA, gyrB, parC and parE gene sequences between all Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum serovars to separate true fluoroquinolone antibiotic resistance mutations from non-resistance polymorphism. J Antimicrob Chemother 64:529–538. doi:10.1093/jac/dkp218

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Bayraktar MR, Ozerol IH, Gucluer N, Celik O (2010) Prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma urealyticum in pregnant women. Int J Infect Dis 14:e90–e95. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2009.03.020

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Govender S, Theron GB, Odendaal HJ, Chalkley LJ (2009) Prevalence of genital mycoplasmas, ureaplasmas and chlamydia in pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol 29:698–701. doi:10.3109/01443610903184033

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Vogel I, Thorsen P, Hogan VK, Schieve LA, Jacobsson B et al (2006) The joint effect of vaginal Ureaplasma urealyticum and bacterial vaginosis on adverse pregnancy outcomes. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 85:778–785. doi:10.1080/00016340500442423

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Mareş MNV (2011) High prevalence of fluoroquinolones resistance in Ureaplasma and Mycoplasma strains isolated from infertile women under initial evaluation in North-east Romania. Romanian Biotechnol Lett 16:5858–5862

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Authors thank Dr Irena Tabain for technical assistance, Dr Štefica Findri-Guštek and Dr Jean Chedid for sample collection. This research has been partially supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports (Grant Number: 098-0982464-2510).

Conflict of interest

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology and Bacteriology, Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Rockefellerova 2, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Blaženka Hunjak & Zdenka Peršić

  2. Department of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenicka 54, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Ivan Sabol & Magdalena Grce

  3. Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Rockefellerova 2, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Gordana Vojnović & Andrea Babić Erceg

  4. Private Gynaecological Clinic, Preradoviceva 10, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Ivan Fistonić

Authors
  1. Blaženka Hunjak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ivan Sabol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Gordana Vojnović
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ivan Fistonić
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Andrea Babić Erceg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zdenka Peršić
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Magdalena Grce
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Magdalena Grce.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hunjak, B., Sabol, I., Vojnović, G. et al. Ureaplasma urealyticum and Ureaplasma parvum in women of reproductive age. Arch Gynecol Obstet 289, 407–412 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-013-2980-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-013-2980-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation