Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Hello, My name is M. pneumoniae.
Us mycoplasmas are the smallest organisms that can reproduce.
We don't have a 'cell wall' around us, like most bacteria do.
Some antibiotics like penicillin need the wall to attack, so we are safe from them.

I cause pneumonia and bronchitis.
My pneumonia is called atypical because I look different to other pneumonias on an X-ray and don't grow on normal agar plates like they do.

You may not feel as sick with me as with some of the others.