A patient who is diagnosed with primary atypical pneumonia tells the nurse that

4 -- Pneumonia that is caused by mycoplasma pneumoniae is generally classified as primary atypical pneumonia, because its presentation and course significantly differ from other bacterial pneumonias. Young adults are the primary affected population. Primary atypical pneumonia is highly contagious with manifestations similar to those of viral pneumonia; systemic manifestations of fever, headache, myalgias, and arthralgias often predominate. Because of the typically mild nature and predominant systemic manifestations, mycoplasmal and viral pneumonia are often referred to as “walking pneumonias.” Predicting that the patient should expect to feel bad soon or is “lucky” are not appropriate responses. Since the illness is typically mild, the patient may not feel very sick while in the acute phase, not just during recovery.