Monitoring transplant patients for M. hominis infections with the xxpress qPCR thermal cycler

Mycoplasma hominis is a species of bacteria able to infect and penetrate the interior of human cells. It is notoriously difficult to test for and resistant to most antibiotics. In transplant recipients, M. hominis infections can lead to pleurisy, surgical site infection and tissue inflammation in the chest. As the pathogen is typically found in the genitourinary tract, it was unknown how heart and lung transplant recipients were acquiring this specific species of bacteria.
The study by the Mayo Clinic investigated current M. hominis detection mechanisms. Current methods of testing for this pathogen were thought to be inadequate which prompted Robin Patel, M.D., Mayo Clinic, to develop a new technique which utilises the Polymerase Chain Reaction. This method is much faster than traditional culture media tests which take up to five days to complete.

Read more