Among the 7 Mycoplasma species isolated from the human respiratory tract, Mycoplasma pneumoniae remains the most common species causing respiratory infections in school-age children and young adults. The Organism Mycoplasmas are the smallest self-replicating prokaryotes known to cause disease in…
Parainfluenza viruses (PIVs) were first identified in humans in the late 1950s. Human PIVs (PIVs) were initially described in children with croup and subsequently recognized as an important cause of acute respiratory tract infections in patients who are immunocompromised, have…
Mycoplasmas are prokaryotes of the class Mollicutes and represent the smallest known free-living organisms. Their small size of 150 to 350 nm is more on the order of viruses than of bacteria. They lack a cell wall and are bound…
Fever Fever is defined as a centrally mediated rise of body temperature above normal daily variation in response to various stimuli. , The classic definition for fever includes a rectal temperature ≥38°C (100.4°F). An excess of the body temperature above…