Chlamydia pneumoniae infection

Chlamydia pneumoniae is a bacterial respiratory pathogen that is a frequent cause of community-acquired pneumonia in children and adults.

An obligate intracellular bacterium that can only be isolated in tissue culture, although culture is not widely available. Infection can be diagnosed using nucleic acid amplification tests and two FDA-approved commercial assays are now available.

Pneumonia due to Chlamydia pneumoniae cannot be differentiated clinically from pneumonia due to other atypical organisms, especially Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Treatment with macrolides, fluoroquinolones, or tetracyclines appears to be equally efficacious.

Chlamydia pneumoniae (an obligate intracellular bacterium) is a respiratory pathogen in humans that occurs worldwide and in all age groups. It is a cause of community-acquired pneumonia and may be responsible for epidemics in enclosed populations. [1]Kumar S, Hammerschlag MR. Acute respiratory infection due to Chlamydia pneumoniae: current status of diagnostic methods. Clin Infect Dis. 2007 Feb 15;44(4):568-76. http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/44/4/568.long http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17243062?tool=bestpractice.com [2]Hammerschlag M, Kohlhoff S, Gaydos C. Chlamydia pneumoniae. In:Bennett J, Dolin R, Blaser M, eds. In: Mandell, Douglas, And Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:2323-31