Seroepidemiology of Chlamydia pneumoniae in community-acquired pneumonia in Bushehr Province

Chlamydia pneumonia is a common etiologic agent of community-acquired pneumonia. In a prospective study, the frequency of Chlamydia pneumonia was investigated in 95 admitted subjects in a university hospital in Bushehr port during autumn and spring of 2005. Age range of the patients was 16 to 95 years. The acute and convalescent sera for IgG titer were examined by ELISA method. A four-fold rising in antibody or >=1/1200 titer was defined acute infection with Chlamydia pneumonia and a titer of >=1/100 was also defined as seroprevalence of the organism. The prevalence of acute infection and seroprevalence of Chlamydia pneumonia were 25 and 71 percent, respectively. The prevalence of acute infection with the organism was 28.6 and 11.8 percent in COPD and asthma groups, respectively. In conclusion, Chlamydia pneumonia is a prevalent etiologic agent.