Ureaplasma urealyticum is a highly contagious and frequently occurring bacterium. It is usually transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse. It is estimated that around 70 percent of all sexually active people become infected with Ureaplasma urealyticum at least once in their lifetime. If left untreated, the bacterium can lead to serious complications.
Here you will find further information and selected specialists for Ureaplasma urealyticum.
Strictly speaking, Ureaplasma urealyticum is not a disease, but a bacterium. This bacterium, Ureaplasma urealyticum, can cause various diseases and symptoms.
A Ureaplasma infection is problematic because it often causes no symptoms at all. As a result, the infection often remains undetected and untreated for a long time.
If left untreated, the infection leads to further illnesses, which can often have serious complications. In the worst cases, it can lead to infertility and, in pregnant women, to premature births or miscarriages.
The Ureaplasma urealyticum bacterium is only about 0.1 to 0.6 micrometers (µm) in size and belongs to the mycoplasma family. It does not have a solid cell wall. This makes the bacterium resistant to some antibiotics. Ureaplasma urealyticum can multiply outside of cells.
The bacterium is also highly contagious. In most cases, it is transmitted through unprotected sexual intercourse. Ureaplasma infection is therefore a sexually transmitted disease in the broadest sense.
However, other routes of infection are also possible, for example via
In rare cases, transmission via the air or respiration is even possible. For example, an infected person would have to cough in the face of a healthy person. Under certain circumstances, infection is also possible through contact with nasal or eye secretions of an infected person.
In most cases, a ureaplasma infection does not cause any symptoms. This is why it often goes unnoticed and untreated for a long time.
If the ureaplasma infection remains untreated for several months, it can also affect other parts of the body such as
permanently.
The first symptoms may appear around 10 to 14 days after infection with Ureaplasma urealyticum.
Possible symptoms of ureaplasma infection in men are
If left untreated, Ureaplasma urealyticum can cause various diseases of the urogenital tract in men. These include inflammation of the urethra (urethritis), which later spreads to the bladder (cystitis).
can spread.
In the worst case, inflammation of the testicles can lead to infertility (sterility) in men.
Symptoms in an infected woman can include
An untreated ureaplasma infection leads to bacterial colonization of the lower female genital tract. Possible diseases and long-term consequences include cystitis and infertility.
In addition, a ureaplasma infection in pregnant women can cause complications such as
birth. In infected children, Ureaplasma urealyticum can cause pneumonia or chronic infections of the central nervous system, among other things.
The diagnosis of an infection with the bacterium Ureaplasma urealyticum is usually made by
The pathogen can usually only be detected using a swab and not a urine test. The doctor takes this swab from the affected part of the body as part of the physical examination. This is usually the urethra.
The bacterium Ureaplasma urealyticum can be detected in the laboratory © raresb | AdobeStock
Doctors can use the swab to grow a pathogen culture in the laboratory. This allows the pathogen to be precisely identified and the diagnosis confirmed.
Ureaplasma infections are usually treated with special antibiotics. They kill the Ureaplasma urealyticum bacterium. The following are usually used
Pregnant women who are not allowed to take doxycycline can also be given erythromycin.
Depending on the severity of the ureaplasma infection, the antibiotic must be taken for at least seven days. If necessary, the antibiotic therapy must also last between 21 and 28 days.
It makes sense to treat your partner as well. They could already be infected with the pathogen. Without co-treatment, the partner could re-infect the patient after treatment.
A ureaplasma infection can be treated and cured quickly and easily with antibiotics. The prognosis is therefore generally good.
More problematic is a ureaplasma infection that goes unnoticed for a long time due to the lack of symptoms and therefore remains untreated. It can lead to serious complications and long-term consequences such as
can result.
