What is walking pneumonia, what causes it? How do you treat it?

“Walking pneumonia” often refers to a respiratory infection with the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae. It commonly affects school aged children and is spread by respiratory droplets. This is considered an atypical pneumonia as the patient usually experiences mild symptoms such as a low grade fever, cough, and runny nose which can last from days to weeks. Treatment is often with a 5 day course of azithromycin.