If you have a runny nose and a little cough, it may not be the fault of a cold or Covid-19, for once, but of a bacteria: mycoplasma pneumoniae. “Since the beginning of autumn”, it has been circulating more in France, with more cases than in the same period of 2022 but also in 2019, before Covid, according to a first report on Thursday from Public Health France (SpF).
“All the elements collected to date show an increased circulation of this bacteria in France since the beginning of autumn, with a higher number of cases than in 2019 and 2022 at the same period, reflecting an epidemic situation” , indicates the agency. The vast majority of infections are mild and resolve spontaneously, but some cases may require hospitalization. Infections occur throughout the year but may be more common in summer and fall. Epidemic peaks are observed cyclically, every 3 to 7 years.
More visits to emergency rooms for 16-49 year olds
Although there is no specific surveillance system, the investigations carried out are “in favor of an increase in cases of respiratory infections with mycoplasma pneumoniae since the end of summer, more marked since October 2023”, according to SpF . Among other signals: an increase in visits to emergency rooms for pneumonia since the beginning of October, “more markedly from the beginning of November, particularly among 6-15 year olds as well as among 16-49 year olds”, with levels “in these age classes much higher than those of 2019 and 2022.”
And in hospital laboratories, the number of detections of mycoplasma pneumoniae by PCR test, all ages combined, “increased markedly from October 2023, until reaching levels significantly higher than those of 2019”, notes SpF . On the SOS Médecins side, the evolution is “comparable to that observed in emergencies, with a more marked increase among those under 15 and 15-44 years old”, according to this report.
The increase in circulation of mycoplasma pneumoniae could be “related to the lifting of control measures put in place during the pandemic, as (…) for other germs”, judged Spf, pointing out a very low circulation of this bacteria during the pandemic based on hospital microbiological data. Across France, several French regions and some overseas (Reunion Island, Guyana) have reported consistent observations.