Recent Developments

To date, no approved vaccines are available. However, vaccines for several of the Mollicutes are in development and useful as research tools.²⁵

A newly developed immuno-chromatographic antigen assay is a rapid, sensitive, and specific method for identifying M. pneumoniae from sputum or throat swab specimens. The easy-to-use rapid qualitative method is different - it does not detect antibodies, rather, it is a colloidal gold immuno-chromatographic assay that targets a region of the associated P1 gene. The test takes 10-15 minutes and may be useful in a point-of-care scenario. This test method is currently approved in several other countries and is under investigation in the U.S.^{26, 27}

The use of truly rapid (antigen) tests for medically important Mollicutes could prove useful in a rule-out or rule-in (infection) algorithm in seriously ill patients. The field is rapidly evolving - stay tuned.

26. Li W, Liu Y, Zhao Y, Tao R, Li Y, Shang S. Rapid diagnosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in children with pneumonia by an immuno-chromatographic antigen assay. Sci Rep. 2015;5:15539. Published 2015 Oct 21. doi:10.1038/srep15539