title: Chlamydia pneumoniae carriage and infection in hospitalized children with respiratory tract diseases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The importance of Chlamydia pneumoniae respiratory tract infection in childhood is under discussion.
  
  
  METHODS
  798 hospitalized children with respiratory tract diseases were prospectively studied during a 2-year period by polymerase chain reaction and enzyme immunoassay (PCR-EIA) detection from throat swabs. Paired serum samples were used to screen for Chlamydia antibodies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  C. pneumoniae was detected by PCR-EIA in 74 children. Prevalence was 11% in lower and 4% in upper respiratory tract disease (p = 0.049) without age dependency. From November to February prevalence was elevated (42/277 vs. 32/521; p < 0.001). Using serology, prevalence of acute Chlamydia infection increased with age (p < 0.001) and the number of coinfections (p < 0.001), without seasonal variation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Characteristics of C. pneumoniae carriage in the respiratory tract in childhood differ from those in systemic infection.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Infectious, Bronchopulmonary and Allergic Diseases, Children's and Youth Hospital, Soldmannstr. 15, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany. schmidt3@uni-greifswald.de
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krechting
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wiersbitzky
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gürtler
authors.forename: S K W
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wiersbitzky
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001483:Base Sequence; D002353:Carrier State; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized; D002675:Child, Preschool; D023521:Chlamydophila Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016993:Chlamydophila pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial