Chlamydia pneumoniae carriage and infection in hospitalized children with respiratory tract diseases.
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.
Schmidt
S M
SM
Dept. of Infectious, Bronchopulmonary and Allergic Diseases, Children's and Youth Hospital, Soldmannstr. 15, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany. schmidt3@uni-greifswald.de
Müller
C E
CE
Krechting
M
M
Wiersbitzky
H
H
Gürtler
L
L
Wiersbitzky
S K W
SK
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
D004269:DNA, Bacterial