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Mycoplasma genitalium

 (Mgen)

Prevalence
  • Mgen (Mycoplasma genitalium) is already a highly prevalent sexually transmitted infection affecting 1% to 3% of the population in the USA, UK, Australia, and Scandinavia.
  • There have been many reports in the media describing how this pathogen may become the next superbug (BBC, CNN, The Daily Telegraph).
Health effects
  • Mgen is often asymptomatic and there is not enough data to fully understand potential long-term health complications of this infection, so it is not recommended to test or screen for Mgen if you are not experiencing any symptoms.
  • In women, Mgen may cause inflammation of the cervix, pelvic inflammatory disease, and infertility.
  • In men, it may cause inflammation of the urethra, discharge from the penis and pain during urination.
Resistance and treatment
Mgen is often asymptomatic but may include the following symptoms.
In men:
  • Urethral discharge
  • Pain and/or difficulty when urinating
  • Penile irritation
  • Urethral discomfort
In women: 
  • Pain and/or difficulty when urinating
  • Post-coital bleeding
  • Painful inter-menstrual bleeding 
  • Inflammation of the cervix 
  • Lower abdominal pain 
  • Pelvic inflammatory disease 
  • Infertility
  • Pre-term delivery
Resistance Guided Therapy allows doctors to prescribe the best possible treatment for Mgen, improving treatment time and success for patients.
  • Patients with non-gonococcal urethritis are to be screened for Mgen and the pathogen’s resistant status to azithromycin.
  • Patients screened as positive for Mgen are given either a treatment plan including oral azithromycin or antibiotics known as ‘fluoroquinolones’ depending on the resistance status. This is outlined in the flowchart below.
Resistance Guided Therapy achieved up to 95% cure rate, opposed to as low as 40% in previous studies without it.*
  • Mgen infection management guidelines in Europe, United KingdomCanada, and Australia recommend Resistance Guided Therapy as best practice for treating the infection. 
  • Guidelines employing Resistance Guided Therapy encourage greater antimicrobial stewardship through more effective use of antibiotics available to treat Mgen.

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Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen) under a microscope

*Read TRH et al. 2019 CID 68(4):554-560

 

Disclaimer: See a health professional if you are experiencing any symptoms. Diagnostic test results must be correlated with clinical history, epidemiological data, laboratory data and any other data available to the clinician.