Mycoplasmas as Agents of Human Disease

MYCOPLASMAS have long been recognized as pathogens of the respiratory tract, urogenital tract, and joints in a variety of animal species.1 With rare exceptions, they produce diseases that are chronic and often of multifactorial origin, the syndrome produced depending on environmental conditions, the genetic predisposition of the host, and to a lesser extent the nature of the infecting microbe. Thus, it has always been difficult to establish the etiologic importance of mycoplasmas.In the past decade, these organisms have received increasing attention as agents of human disease. Mycoplasma pneumoniae, previously thought to cause only benign respiratory disease, can also . . .