title: Ureaplasma urealyticum: ecologic niche and epidemiologic considerations.
abstract: Ureaplasma urealyticum organisms primarily colonize the male urethra and the vagina. Other genital and nongenital mucosal sites are colonized less frequently. About one-third of neonates are colonized as a result of acquisition of organisms from the birth canal. Less than 10% of older children and sexually inexperienced adults are colonized. Following sexual debut colonization rates increase with an increase in the number of different sexual partners. Ureaplasmal colonization is common among healthy sexually experienced adults, a fact which must be considered in assessing the role of these organisms in human disease.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D014509:Ureaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014521:Urethra / Q000382:microbiology*; D014621:Vagina / Q000382:microbiology*