Outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection among hospital personnel.

An outbreak of illness due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae occurred among employees of a large hospital. The spectrum of disease ranged from severe upper respiratory infection to multilobed pneumonia. No unusual increase in the incidence of respiratory illness due to this organism was observed in the surrounding community during the period under investigation. It was not possible to identify any single area of the hospital frequented by enough of the involved personnel to explain the spread of the infection among the hospital's employees. This is the first outbreak of M pneumoniae disease to be reported among hospital personnel.