Objective: To describe the clinical-radiological, epidemiological, therapeutic and evolutive characteristics of an outbreak of atypical Pneumonia in a family, which was serologically diagnosed by means of the technique of complement fixation of Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma.
Design: A descriptive study.
Setting: An urban Health Centre.
Patients and other participants: A family of 7 members, consisting of father, mother and five children.
Measurements and main results: Three presented Pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, with the other family members remaining asymptomatic and serologically negative. The three cases evolved until cure. Treatment was with Macrolides in two of the cases and Penicillin in the other. Clinical-radiological dissociation existed in two of the patients. 33% had a secondary attack.
Conclusion: The accessibility of Primary Care to microserological methods, together with the greater ease with which this level of Care can reach the family environment, allows for more precise knowledge of infectious epidemic outbreaks which occur in the community.