Early cold-like symptoms… continuous fever and cough
Possible to treat with antibiotics for two infectious diseases,
, A received a message from the school a few days ago saying, ‘A patient with whooping cough has occurred in the school, so we ask for cooperation in prevention and transmission prevention.’ And after 3 to 4 days, the child started to have a high fever along with coughing. A visited the hospital, received a test for Mycoplasma diagnosis, and was prescribed antibiotics. A said, “I heard that there is a patient with whooping cough in the school, so I was worried that it might be a simultaneous infection of whooping cough and Mycoplasma.”
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, ‘Recently, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an epidemic alert for Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, while also urging caution against the spread of whooping cough. With two infectious diseases spreading simultaneously, daycare centers, kindergartens, and elementary school parents recall the ‘nightmare’ of the flu epidemic that surged after last April and May’s endemic outbreak.”
Mycoplasma pneumonia is an illness caused by a bacterium called Mycoplasma. Mycoplasma bacteria are characterized by the absence of a cell wall. As they have no cell wall, common antibiotics that work by breaking down the cell wall do not work on Mycoplasma.
Professor Shim Jeong-yeon of Kangbuk Samsung Hospital’s Department of Pediatrics said, “For Mycoplasma pneumonia, the first-choice antibiotic macrolides should be administered. If there is no improvement in symptoms such as fever and cough even after 48-72 hours, or if the symptoms worsen, the antibiotic should be switched to the second-choice antibiotic, considering macrolide antibiotic resistance.”
In a survey conducted in Korea in 2019, it was found that Mycoplasma had an 80% antibiotic resistance rate.
Professor Shim said, “Mycoplasma pneumonia initially shows symptoms similar to cold symptoms such as a sore throat and fever, and coughing starts one or two days later.” He added, “A way to differentiate it from a simple cold is to observe that even after some time, the fever and cough persist, and the food intake decreases.””
Whooping cough, also currently prevalent, exhibits similar symptoms. Fever, sore throat, and cough appear similarly. It is difficult for the general public to distinguish between the two diseases based on symptoms alone.
Then, should PCR tests be performed to treat whooping cough and Mycoplasma separately?
The answer is ‘no.’ Both diseases can be treated with the same antibiotic prescription, so PCR testing is not essential.
Professor Shim said, “Even for whooping cough, macrolide antibiotics are used, so both diseases are treated with the same antibiotic. Since both diseases, unlike common colds, can last a long time with fever and cough, and complications such as pneumonia or sequelae can be left, chest X-ray follow-up tests are necessary.”
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