title: Seroprevalence of Chlamydia pneumoniae in Taiwan.
abstract: Chlamydia pneumoniae (TWAR) is a relatively newly discovered respiratory tract pathogen which was first isolated in Taiwan. In order to describe the seroepidemiology of C. pneumoniae in Taiwan, we evaluated 1,085 stored serum samples: 904 from patients, 97 from umbilical cord blood samples, and 84 from medical personnel at the Veterans General Hospital-Kaohsiung, between January 1 and April 30, 1991. Antibodies were determined by the use of a microimmunofluorescence test using elementary bodies of C. pneumoniae AR-39 as antigen. Sera were tested with screening titres of 16 and 512 for immunoglobulin G antibody. The antibody prevalence was found to be 23.1% in young children (6 months to 10 years old), rising to 66.7% in teenagers, and to 96.2% in older age groups. These rates were higher than any reported earlier. The progressively increasing rates of seropositivity found in older individuals indicated a surge of reinfection in these age groups. Only 5 cases were found with micro-IF IgG titres equal to or greater than 512. All were asymptomatic according to the hospital records. In addition to a high prevalence rate in Taiwan, the data also showed high infection rates in teenagers and elderly people.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Veterans General Hospital-Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: M Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Yeng
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: B C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002690:Chlamydia Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G