Based on the results of the pharyngeal swab test for Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the panel concluded that the pathogen of this unexplained viral pneumonia case was initially determined to be a novel coronavirus.

I. What is Mycoplasma pneumoniae? Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the smallest microorganism that can live independently between bacteria and viruses, with a size of 200 nm. It is airborne by oral and nasal secretions and causes disseminated and small epidemic respiratory infections, mainly in children and adolescents, but is now found to be non-rare in adults, more often in autumn and winter. Respiratory tract infections include pharyngitis and bronchitis, with a few involving the lungs. Mycoplasma pneumonia accounts for more than 1/3 of non-bacterial pneumonia, or 10% of all types of pneumonia.

Mycoplasma infections are generally normal blood tests, because mycoplasma generally resides in the upper respiratory tract such as the pharynx, blood tests if abnormal is generally bacterial or viral pneumonia, mycoplasma testing can be done with a pharyngeal swab for mycoplasma antibodies, if the antibodies are positive, consider mycoplasma infections.

When will the results of pharyngeal swab test for Mycoplasma pneumoniae be available?

The pharyngeal swab test is usually available in one day.

1, pharyngeal swab test is a medical test method, is a medical flocked swab, from the human pharynx dipped in a small amount of secretions, inoculated in a special culture dish, and then placed in a temperature-controlled equipment area for the culture process, can understand the patient's condition, oral mucosa and pharyngeal infection. Coronaviruses are a group of pathogens that mainly cause respiratory and intestinal diseases. The surface of these virus particles has many regularly arranged protrusions, and the entire virus particle resembles an imperial crown, hence the name "coronavirus".

In addition to humans, coronaviruses can also infect pigs, cattle, cats, dogs, mink, camels, bats, rats, hedgehogs, and other mammals, as well as many species of birds. To date, there are six known human coronaviruses. Four of these coronaviruses are more common in the population, are less pathogenic, and generally cause only mild respiratory symptoms similar to the common cold. The other two coronaviruses - severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or SARS coronavirus and MERS coronavirus for short - can cause severe respiratory illness. The novel coronavirus causing this outbreak is different from the identified human coronaviruses, and further scientific research is needed to gain a better understanding of this virus.