TWAR: a new chlamydial species?
In 1986 Grayston and coworkers termed TWAR (or Taiwan Acute Respiratory) a new strain of Chlamydia which has still not received an exact taxonomic classification. In fact, whereas initially the TWAR strain was classified as C. psittaci because of its oval-shaped, glycogen free, dense inclusions, recent studies on the immunological analysis, DNA analysis and ultrastructural morphology, would seem to indicate that TWAR is a new Chlamydial species, whose proposed name as C. pneumonia. TWAR is mainly responsible for respiratory syndrome varying in gravity from a slight form to pneumonia, and is liable to give rise to epidemic forms; in addition, more recently, certain Authors have postulated its involvement in the pathogenesis of ischemic cardiopathy.
Nicosia
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IV Cattedra di Microbiologia, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Università La Sapienza, Roma.
Pustorino
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Sessa
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Santino
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Simonetti
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Del Piano
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D002689:Chlamydia / Q000145:classification*; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D012537:Scandinavian and Nordic Countries / Q000453:epidemiology; D013624:Taiwan