Ureaplasma urealyticum is a species in the genus Ureaplasma noted for its lack of a cell wall. It is found in about 70% of sexually active humans. It can be found in cultures in cases of pelvic inflammatory disease and is transmitted through sexual activity or from mother to infant during birth.
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Clinical aspects
Infection can manifest itself depending on age and gender.
Men
It had also been associated with a number of diseases in humans, including nonspecific urethritis, infertility,
Women and infants
Pregnancy and birth can be complicated by chorioamnionitis, stillbirth, premature birth, and, in the perinatal period, pneumonia, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and meningitis. U. urealyticum has been found to be present in amniotic fluid in women who have had a premature birth with intact fetal membranes.
U. urealyticum has been noted as one of the infectious causes of sterile pyuria. It increases the morbidity as a cause of neonatal infections.
Treatment
Doxycycline is the drug of choice, but azithromycin is also used as a five-day course rather than a single dose that would be used to treat Chlamydia infection; streptomycin is an alternative, but is less popular because it must be injected. Penicillins are ineffective — U. urealyticum does not have a cell wall, which is the drug's main target.