Skip to main content
Log in

Recent clinical relevance of mono-genital colonization/infection by Ureaplasma parvum

  • Original Article
  • Published:
European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ureaplasma parvum is the most prevalent genital mycoplasma in women of childbearing age. There is debate around the relevance of its presence in male or female genitals for disease development and as a cofactor. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of colonization/infection by U. parvum and its possible relationship with reproductive tract infections. We retrospectively analyzed the presence of U. parvum in patients referred by specialist clinicians for suspicion of genitourinary tract infection. U. parvum was detected in 23.8% of samples, significantly more frequently in females (39.9%) than in males (6%). Among the males, U. parvum was found alone in 68.4% of episodes, with Ct < 30. Among the females, U. parvum was detected in 88.6% of cases, with Ct < 30, including 22 cases with premature rupture of membranes and 6 cases with threat of preterm labor. Co-infection was significantly more frequent in females (62.6%) than in males (31.6%). Given the high prevalence of U. parvum as sole isolate in males and females with genitourinary symptoms, it should be considered in the diagnosis and treatment of genital infections, although its pathogenic role in some diseases has not been fully elucidated.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Latino MA, Botta G, Badino C, Maria D, Petrozziello A, Sensini A, Leli C (2018) Association between genital mycoplasmas, acute chorioamnionitis and fetal pneumonia in spontaneous abortions. J Perinat Med 46:503–508

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Taylor-Robinson D (2017) Mollicutes in vaginal microbiology: Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum and Mycoplasma genitalium. Res Microbiol 168:875–881

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Sprong KE, Mabenge M, Wright CA, Govender S (2020) Ureaplasma species and preterm birth: current perspectives. Crit Rev Microbiol 46:169–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Leli C, Mencacci A, Latino MA, Clerici P, Rassu M, Perito S et al (2018) Prevalence of cervical colonization by Ureaplasma parvum, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma genitalium in childbearing age women by a commercially available multiplex real-time PCR: an Italian observational multicentre study. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 51:220–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Foronda-García-Hidalgo C, Liébana-Martos C, Gutiérrez-Soto B, Expósito-Ruiz M, Navarro-Marí JM, Gutiérrez-Fernández J (2019) Prevalence among males from the general population of agents responsible of not ulcerative genital tract infections, assisted in specialized care. Rev Esp Quimioter 32:545–550

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Ruiz-Olivares M, Foronda-García-Hidalgo C, Sanbonmatsu-Gámez S, Gutiérrez-Fernández J (2020 [in press]) Recent prevalence among females from the general population of agents responsible for sexually transmitted infections and other genital infections. Aten Primaria. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2019.11.009

  7. Gdoura R, Kchaou W, Ammar-Keskes L, Chakroun N, Sellemi A, Znazen A et al (2008) Assessment of Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Ureaplasma parvum, Mycoplasma hominis, and Mycoplasma genitalium in semen and first void urine specimens of asymptomatic male partners of infertile couples. J Androl 29:198–206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Furr PM, Taylor-Robinson D (1993) Factors influencing the ability of different mycoplasmas to colonize the genital tract of hormone-treated female mice. Int J Exp Pathol 74:97–101

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Koucký M, Malíčková K, Cindrová-Davies T, Smíšek J, Vráblíková H, Černý A et al (2016) Prolonged progesterone administration is associated with less frequent cervicovaginal colonization by Ureaplasma urealyticum during pregnancy - results of a pilot study. J Reprod Immunol 116:35–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Rumyantseva T, Khayrullina G, Guschin A, Donders G (2019) Prevalence of Ureaplasma spp. and Mycoplasma hominis in healthy women and patients with flora alterations. Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis 93:227–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Novy MJ, Duffy L, Axthelm MK, Sadowsky DW, Witkin SS, Gravett MG, Cassell GH, Waites KB (2009) Ureaplasma parvum or Mycoplasma hominis as sole pathogens cause chorioamnionitis, preterm delivery, and fetal pneumonia in rhesus macaques. Reprod Sci 16:56–70

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Pavlidis I, Spiller OB, Sammut Demarco G, MacPherson H, Howie SEM, Norman JE, Stock SJ (2020) Cervical epithelial damage promotes Ureaplasma parvum ascending infection, intrauterine inflammation and preterm birth induction in mice. Nat Commun 11:199. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-14089-y

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Jordan JA, Durso MB (2005) Real-time polymerase chain reaction for detecting bacterial DNA directly from blood of neonates being evaluated for sepsis. J Mol Diagn 7:575–581

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Horner P, Donders G, Cusini M, Gomberg M, Jensen JS, Unemo M (2018) Should we be testing for urogenital Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum in men and women? - a position statement from the European STI Guidelines Editorial Board. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol 32:1845–1851

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Cox C, McKenna JP, Watt AP, Coyle PV (2016) Ureaplasma parvum and Mycoplasma genitalium are found to be significantly associated with microscopy-confirmed urethritis in a routine genitourinary medicine setting. Int J STD AIDS 27:861–867

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Deguchi T, Shimada Y, Horie K, Mizutani K, Seike K, Tsuchiya T, Yokoi S, Yasuda M, Ito S (2015) Bacterial loads of Ureaplasma parvum contribute to the development of inflammatory responses in the male urethra. Int J STD AIDS 26:1035–1039

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Kasprzykowska U, Elias J, Elias M, Maczynska B, Sobieszczanska BM (2014) Colonization of the lower urogenital tract with Ureaplasma parvum can cause asymptomatic infection of the upper reproductive system in women: a preliminary study. Arch Gynecol Obstet 289:1129–1134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Jhaveri Jhaveri VV, Lasalvia MT (2019) Invasive Ureaplasma infection in patients receiving rituximab and other humoral immunodeficiencies-a case report and review of the literature. Open Forum Infect Dis 6:ofz399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Gil-Campesino H, Pino-Calm B, Ferré Moragues L, Rivero Falero M, Alcoba-Flórez J (2018) Premature delivery and colonization associated with Ureaplasma parvum. Rev Esp Quimioter 31:66–67

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Cox C, Watt AP, McKenna JP, Coyle PV (2016) Mycoplasma hominis and Gardnerella vaginalis display a significant synergistic relationship in bacterial vaginosis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 35:481–487

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Lobão TN, Campos GB, Selis NN, Amorim AT, Souza SG, Mafra SS, Pereira LS, Dos Santos DB, Figueiredo TB, Marques LM, Timenetsky J (2017) Ureaplasma urealyticum and U. parvum in sexually active women attending public health clinics in Brazil. Epidemiol Infect 145:2341–2351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Marovt M, Keše D, Kotar T, Kmet N, Miljković J, Šoba B, Matičič M (2015) Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum detected with the same frequency among women with and without symptoms of urogenital tract infection. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 34:1237–1245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Blanchard A, Hentschel J, Duffy L, Baldus K, Cassell GH (1993) Detection of Ureaplasma urealyticum by polymerase chain reaction in the urogenital tract of adults, in amniotic fluid, and in the respiratory tract of newborns. Clin Infect Dis 17(Suppl 1):S148–S153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Feng L, Ransom CE, Nazzal MK, Allen TK, Li YJ, Truong T et al (2016) The role of progesterone and a novel progesterone receptor, progesterone receptor membrane component 1, in the inflammatory response of fetal membranes to Ureaplasma parvum infection. PLoS One 11:e0168102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Zhou YH, Ma HX, Shi XX, Liu Y (2018) Ureaplasma spp. in male infertility and its relationship with semen quality and seminal plasma components. J Microbiol Immunol Infect 51:778–783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Viscardi RM, Kallapur SG (2015) Role of Ureaplasma respiratory tract colonization in bronchopulmonary dysplasia pathogenesis: current concepts and update. Clin Perinatol 42:719–738

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Rittenschober-Böhm J, Waldhoer T, Schulz SM, Pimpel B, Goeral K, Kasper DC et al (2019) Vaginal Ureaplasma parvum serovars and spontaneous preterm birth. Am J Obstet Gynecol 220:594.e1–594.e9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Payne MS, Ireland DJ, Watts R, Nathan EA, Furfaro LL, Kemp MW, Keelan JA, Newnham JP (2016) Ureaplasma parvum genotype, combined vaginal colonisation with Candida albicans, and spontaneous preterm birth in an Australian cohort of pregnant women. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth 16:312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Oh KJ, Romero R, Park JY, Hong JS, Yoon BH (2019) The earlier the gestational age, the greater the intensity of the intra-amniotic inflammatory response in women with preterm premature ruptures of membranes and amniotic fluid infection by Ureaplasma species. J Perinat Med 47:516–527

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Heras-Cañas V, Gutiérrez-Soto B, Serrano-García ML, Vázquez-Alonso F, Navarro-Marí JM, Gutiérrez-Fernández J (2016) Chronic bacterial prostatitis. Clinical and microbiological study of 332 cases. Med Clin (Barc) 147:144–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Beeton ML, Spiller OB (2017) Antibiotic resistance among Ureaplasma spp. isolates: cause for concern? J Antimicrob Chemother 72:330–337

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Beeton ML, Chalker VJ, Jones LC, Maxwell NC, Spiller OB (2015) Antibiotic resistance among clinical ureaplasma isolates recovered from neonates in England and Wales between 2007 and 2013. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 60:52–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Kim SI, Yoon JH, Park DC, Lee DS, Lee SJ, Choe HS et al (2018) Co-infection of Ureaplasma urealyticum and human papillomavirus in asymptomatic sexually active individuals. Int J Med Sci 15:915–920

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Kwak DW, Hwang HS, Kwon JY, Park YW, Kim YH (2014) Co-infection with vaginal Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis increases adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with preterm labor or preterm premature rupture of membranes. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 27:333–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to José Gutiérrez-Fernández.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest

Ethical considerations

The study complied with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The informed consent of patients was not required, because the biological material was used solely for the standard diagnosis of genital tract infection by attending physicians with no addition to routine procedures, in accordance with WHO ethical guidelines for health-related research in humans. There were no additional samplings or modifications to the laboratory diagnostic protocol. Permission to access and analyze the data was granted by the Clinical Microbiology Management Unit of our hospital.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 12 kb).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Siles-Guerrero, V., Cardona-Benavides, I., Liébana-Martos, C. et al. Recent clinical relevance of mono-genital colonization/infection by Ureaplasma parvum. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 39, 1899–1905 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-020-03928-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-020-03928-2

Keywords

Navigation