ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the epidemiological characterization , effect of prevention and control measures during an outbreak in a military unit caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae.Methods All the cases were investigated to learn about their basic characteristics , clinical symptoms and aggregation activities using epidemiological cross-sectional study . Results From May 16 to June 11,2013, forty-nine confirmed cases and thirty-five suspected cases who were all males were found at an attack rate of 7.8%.The epidemic peak period was from May 27 to Jun 2(seven days), and the number of total cases was 66(75.9%).During the outbreak, the attack rate of the 10th cadet team, other cadet teams and a non-student population was 47.5%, 4.5% and 1.2% respectively.The difference was significant (P<0.01).The age of forty-nine confirmed cases ranged from 17 to 26 years old , the attack rate did not differ significantly between different age groups, and no aggregation was found in the place of birth and soldier source .The most frequent clinical symptoms were fever and cough for the confirmed cases , 62.5% of whom showed unilateral or bilateral lung inflammation change , while few positive lung symptoms were present .All the confirmed cases were hospitalized and no severe or critically ill cases were present.The outbreak was controlled effectively after implementation of case surveillance , contact precaution , termination of aggregation activities , dispersed habitation and prescription of azithromycin for disease prevention .Conclusion The confined and crowed environment for learning and training can increase the risk of M.pneumoniae outbreak , making it nec-essary to enhance disease prevention awareness , improve case management , live dispersed , reduce close contact and imple-ment personal hygienic measures .