In this work the prevalence of three mycoplasma species recently identified as human pathogens was investigated: M. genitalium, involved in cases of non-gonococcal urethritis, and M. fermentans and M. penetrans, isolated from immunosupressed individuals, and the 2 species more frequently isolated from the urogenital tract: M. hominis and U. urealyticum. Studied groups were composed by 110 patients with symptoms of urethritis (group A) and 106 HIV-1-infected individuals (group B). M. genitalium was detected in 10.9% of the urethral swab samples from the group A, and in 1.9% of the urethral swab samples and 0.9% of the urine samples from the group B. M. fermentans was detected in 0.9% and 5.7% of the urethral swab samples from the groups A and B, respectively. M. penetrans was detected in 6.6% of the urine samples only from the group B. M. hominis and U. urealyticum presented infection rates of 0.9% and 14.5% in the group A, and of 7.5% and 18.9% in the group B, respectively. The relevant prevalence of infection by these new species, as compared to the better known mycoplasmas of the genitourinary tract, suggest that the role of these microorganisms in the field of STD and HIV infection may be underestimated in our population.
M. penetrans; M. fermentans; M. genitalium; HIV; Urethritis; PCR
