Epidemiologic characteristics of a Mycoplasma pneumonia outbreak in a primary school

To identify and describe the epidemiological characteristics of an outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae(MP) infection in an school. Throat swabs and blood samples were collected from the patients. MP DNA and antibody(MP-Ab) were quantitatively determined. Twenty one MP infection cases were reported. The attack rate was 31.91% (15/47), and the family secondary attack rate was 33.33%(6/18). The throat swabs from the patients were positive for MP by PCR detection, the MP-Ab was 41.506.93 in the patients and 35.111.41 in the unaffected in the same class, showing no significant difference(t=2.03,P=0.48). MP infection was the main cause of this outbreak. The index case was not isolated promptly, which suggested that It is essential to take early isolation measure to prevent the spread of infection.