Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma Species among Women in Dakar

Introduction: Genital mycoplasmas, which cause infections of the lower reproductive tract in women, are a major cause of morbidity and complications. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of mycoplasma infections and the antibiotic susceptibility profile among women in Dakar.

Material and methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study over a four-year period, from 02 January 2018 to 31 December 2021. The study population consisted of women referred to the microbiology laboratory at Military Hospital of Ouakam for genital mycoplasma testing. The Mycoplasma IES kit was used for mycoplasma testing and susceptibility testing in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations.

Results: A total of 1431 patients were enrolled during the study period. The mean age was 32.6 ± 8.5 years. The overall prevalence of mycoplasma infection was 55.8% (798/1431). Of the 798 positive cultures, 52.8% were infected with Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) and 17.9% with Mycoplasma hominis (MH). UU+MH co-infection was 31.08%. Analysis of the sensitivity profiles showed that UU was sensitive to most of the antibiotics used, while M. hominis strains showed low levels of resistance to tetracyclines (TET DOX, MIN), quinolones (OFX, LEV, SPA) and JOS. This resistance was much higher with macrolides (ERY, ROX, AZT), certain quinolones (ASP, CIP) and aminoglycosides (SPE). However, M. hominis strains were much more resistant to these molecules than U. urealitycum isolates.

Conclusion: Our study revealed a high rate of genital mycoplasma infection among women in Dakar. The high rates of resistance to certain molecules underline the importance of surveillance to prevent transmission of resistant strains and rational use of antibiotics.