Detection of mycoplasmas in urethral swabs from HIV-1 infected patients and control individuals using culture techniques and polymerase chain reaction

• Main Authors: Regina Ayr Florio da CUNHA, Kioko TAKEI, Adelaide José VAZ, Caio ROSENTHAL
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 1998
• Subjects: Mycoplasmas; Mycoplasma penetrans; HIV-1; PCR; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Infectious and parasitic diseases; RC109-216; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/9e37734a00274500a11d6f9e143ec7c3

The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence of certain mycoplasma species, i.e., Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma penetrans, in urethral swabs from HIV-1 infected patients compared to swabs from a control group. Mycoplasmas were detected by routine culture techniques and by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique, using 16SrRNA generic primers of conserved region and Mycoplasma penetrans specific primers. The positivity rates obtained with the two methods were comparable. Nevertheless, PCR was more sensitive, while the culture techniques allowed the quantification of the isolates. The results showed no significant difference (p < 0.05) in positivity rates between the methods used for mycoplasma detection.