General approaches to identification of Mycoplasma, Ureaplasma, and Obligate intracellular bacteria

This chapter summarizes the epidemiology of infections and the diagnostic tests most often used for the detection of the causative bacteria such as mycoplasma , ureaplasma , and obligate intracellular bacteria. It talks about the most frequently used tests in clinical microbiology laboratories, the Gram stain and culture on artificial media, which are unable to detect these organisms if present in clinical samples. Molecular diagnostic tools and better culture methods have significantly improved the ability to detect these agents and to diagnose the diseases that they cause. The diagnostic tests most often used for the detection of the causative bacteria are described in the chapter.