Mycoplasma genitalium in Spain: prevalence of genital infection and frequency of resistance to macrolides.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium infection and the resistance to macrolides within a general population in Madrid in 2015.

METHODS: We collected 359 urine samples from a general population with symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). All samples underwent a real-time PCR. For the detection of macrolide resistance, a 283bp fragment of region V of the 23S rRNA gene of M. genitalium was amplified and sequenced.

RESULTS: We found a prevalence of 3.34% of M. genitalium and a macrolide resistance rate of 20%. In males, the prevalence was 6.62% and in women 0.96%, being significantly higher in males.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence obtained shows that it is a pathogen to consider in our environment. These findings stress the need for routine testing of M. genitalium infections and would seem to suggest the advisability of resistance testing.