@Takethetest
Mycoplasma genitalium
(Mgen)
Prevalence
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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.
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There have been many reports in the media describing how this pathogen may become the next superbug (BBC, CNN, The Daily Telegraph).
Health effects
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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.
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In women, Mgen may cause inflammation of the cervix, pelvic inflammatory disease, and infertility.
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In men, it may cause inflammation of the urethra, discharge from the penis and pain during urination.
Resistance and treatment
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Mgen infections are highly resistant to common front-line antibiotics – treatment failure is common. Without knowledge of an infection’s resistant status, treatment with the recommended antibiotic ‘azithromycin’ may result in cure rates as low as 40%.*
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Mgen has been identified as one of the biggest antibiotic resistance threats, as published in the 2019 antibiotic resistance report released by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US.
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Without the knowledge of resistance status, Mgen will become increasingly difficulty to treat with current antibiotics.
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High cure rates can be achieved with Resistance Guided Therapy. Use of appropriate diagnostics with Resistance Guided Therapy have shown to increase cure rates to over 92%.*
Mgen is often asymptomatic but may include the following symptoms.
In men:
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Urethral discharge
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Pain and/or difficulty when urinating
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Penile irritation
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Urethral discomfort
In women:
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Pain and/or difficulty when urinating
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Post-coital bleeding
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Painful inter-menstrual bleeding
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Inflammation of the cervix
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Lower abdominal pain
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Pelvic inflammatory disease
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Infertility
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Pre-term delivery
Resistance Guided Therapy allows doctors to prescribe the best possible treatment for Mgen, improving treatment time and success for patients.
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Patients with non-gonococcal urethritis are to be screened for Mgen and the pathogen’s resistant status to azithromycin.
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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.*
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Mgen infection management guidelines in Europe, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia recommend Resistance Guided Therapy as best practice for treating the infection.
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Guidelines employing Resistance Guided Therapy encourage greater antimicrobial stewardship through more effective use of antibiotics available to treat Mgen.
Instagram:
Mycoplasma genitalium (Mgen) under a microscope
*Read TRH et al. 2019 CID 68(4):554-560