Shedding ofMycoplasma pneumoniaeafter Tetracycline and Erythromycin Therapy

Abstract

MOST early studies of the efficacy of antimicrobial treatment of atypical pneumonia were inconclusive because at that time many of the etiologic agents responsible for this syndrome were not known.¹ The development of a sensitive and specific serologic test for infection with the Eaton agent by Liu et al.² led to the demonstration that this agent was an important cause of atypical pneumonia.³ Later, it was shown that dimethylchlortetracycline was effective in the treatment of pneumonia due to the Eaton agent.⁴ The successful growth of the Eaton agent on an artificial medium⁵ and its subsequent identification as a mycoplasma ( . . .