The connection of the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection with the growth of mycoplasma pneumonia in the epidemic season of 2023

Background. The defeat of the respiratory system is one of the leading problems of modern pediatrics, which was once again demonstrated by the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection. In addition to the immediate direct impact of SARS-CoV-2 on public health, the pandemic has affected the circulation of major respiratory pathogens. During the period of active circulation of the new coronavirus infection, the role of seasonal respiratory viruses and atypical pathogens in the nosological structure of diseases in children has significantly decreased. Objective. To study the causes of a significant increase in the incidence of microplasma pneumonia in the postcovid period with a decrease in the circulation of SARS-CoV-2.

Materials and methods. The frequency of hospitalization of children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the hospital in different years of follow-up was studied: the pre-epidemic period, during the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection and at the stage of transition of SARS-CoV-2 to seasonal respiratory viruses. The etiology of pneumonia was confirmed by bacteriological studies of sputum, blood, PCR analysis for SARS-CoV-2, PCR and ELISA examination for Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, PCR analysis "Respiratory screen".

Results. Prior to the development of the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection in 2018 and 2019, 1,124 and 1,151 children were hospitalized with VP per year, while the proportion of mycoplasma pneumonia was 13.9% and 5.3%, respectively. The first increase in the incidence of COVID-19 in the Voronezh region occurred in the spring of 2020, while there was no increase in the number of pneumonia. In the 2020 epidemic season, other respiratory viruses and respiratory mycoplasmosis were practically not registered. The peak in the number of hospitalizations of children with lung damage associated with a new coronavirus infection occurred in 2021 (2,689 children with CAP). During this epidemic period, rhinovirus infection continued to circulate, as well as adaptation to the pandemic of other respiratory viruses (bocavirus, respiratory syncytial infections), and influenza and respiratory mycoplasmosis were practically not registered. In 2022, Omicron, the coronavirus strain, dominated the region, while the number of pneumonia decreased slightly (1,570 children). The decrease in SARS-CoV-2 activity in the Voronezh region began in February 2023, and the circulation of respiratory viruses returned to the pre-pandemic period. But since March, there has been an increase in the proportion of mycoplasma infection among hospitalized children, and for six months Mycoplasma pneumoniae has been playing a leading etiological role. It was difficult to explain such a significant increase in mycoplasma pneumonia in the region only by another periodic increase in the incidence of mycoplasmosis. Conclusions. The impact of the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection on the epidemic process of both respiratory viral infections and respiratory mycoplasmosis is obvious. The high incidence of COVID-19 and frequent lung damage in the new coronavirus infection have led to a significant increase in people in the population with a history of pneumonia.

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