M. pneumoniae infections in 2024 not more severe than those in 2018 to 2023
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, July 2, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae)-associated community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) incidence was significantly higher in 2024 than in 2018 to 2023 among children, according to research published in the June 26 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Maureen H. Diaz, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues identified discharge and diagnostic codes for 2018 to 2024 indicating M. pneumoniae infection using data from the Pediatric Health Information System from 42 U.S. children’s hospitals.
The researchers found that compared with 2018 to 2023, in 2024, the incidence of M. pneumoniae-associated CAP incidence among children aged 18 years or younger was significantly higher (12.5 versus 2.1 per 1,000 hospitalizations). An M. pneumoniae diagnostic code was listed in 11.5 percent of pediatric CAP hospitalizations during the study period, peaking in July 2024 at 53.8 percent. Among pediatric M. pneumoniae CAP cases, the highest percentage was seen among those aged 6 to 12 years, followed by those aged 2 to 5 years and 13 to 18 years (42.6, 25.7, and 21.1 percent, respectively); the lowest percentages were seen among those aged 12 to 23 months and 0 to 11 months (6.4 and 4.2 percent, respectively). As assessed by length of hospitalization and percentage of patients admitted to an intensive care unit, M. pneumoniae infections in 2024 were not more severe than those in 2018 to 2023.
“Ongoing surveillance of M. pneumoniae infections is important to detect periodic increases and improve mathematical modeling to predict the timing and magnitude of future increases,” the authors write.
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