Prevalence of Ureaplasma urealyticum in Endocervical Specimens of Female Patients in Qazvin, Iran

Background: Ureaplasma urealyticum that is the smallest free-living bacterium does not have bacterial cell wall. These organisms cause different infections in respiratory and urinary tract system in close contact with epithelial cells. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of U. urealyticum in endocervical samples of female patients referred to Kowsar hospital in Qazvin, Iran. Methods: The study was conducted on 232 married females aged 20 - 50 years. According to a gynecologist’s request, genital tract biopsies were taken from each individual using Dacron swabs. Each swab was placed into 4 mL of the pleural pneumonia-like organism (PPLO) broth media. Then 25 �L of the suspension was inoculated on the surface of PPLO agar. The remaining broth media and agar plates were incubated at 35°C in 5% CO2 atmosphere. Results: Out of 232 tested samples, 87 cases (37.5%) were positive for U. urealyticum and 145 (62.5%) were negative. Conclusions: Rapid laboratory detection of genital Ureaplasma in pregnant females is very important, mainly because of the ability of the bacteria to colonize the endocervical lining and cause injury to the fetus