Chlamydophila pneumoniae is a causal agent of community-acquired pneumonia and is categorized as an atypical cause of pneumonia, together with Legionella ...ChlamydophilapneumoniaeChlamydophilapneumoniae isacausalagentofcommunity-acquiredpneumoniaandiscategorizedasanatypicalcauseofpneumonia,togetherwith Legionellapneumophila andMycoplasmapneumoniae. Chlamydophilapneumoniae mainlyinfectsadults.Thehigherincidencetakesplaceinelderlypeopleanditisconsideredresponsibleof10%ofallthecasesofpneumoniaand,accordingtosomeauthors,themostfrequentcauseofthosecasesofknownethiology.Itisusuallymildandcauseslowmortalityrates.Clinicalfeatures:Theseroprevalenceto C.pneumoniae islowininfantsbutitcanbehigherthan50%inadults.Respiratoryinfectionwith C.pneumoniae occursworldwideandinallagegroups.Seroepidemioloicalstudiesshowthat50to75%ofadultshaveantibodiesagainst C.pneumoniae.Mostpeopleareinfectedandreinfectedthroughouttheirlife. C.pneumoniae hasbeenassociatedwiththeestablishmentofateromatousdiseaseandheartattacks.Diagnosis:Laboratorymethodsforthediagnosisof C.pneumoniae infectionincludeisolationoftheorganismincellculture,serologicalassays,andDNAamplificationtests.Duetoitstechnicalcomplexityandvariableyield,cultureof C.pneumoniae islimitedtofewlaboratories.Despiteeffortstoimprovethesensitivityofcellculture,fewisolatesof C.pneumoniae havebeenobtainedworldwide.Antibodyassaysarethemostcommontestsstillusedforthediagnosisof C.pneumoniae infections.Serologicaltestingrequirespairedserumsamplesforanaccuratediagnosis,offeringaretrospectivediagnosis.IgMantibodiesappear2-3weeksafterinfection,whileIgGrequires6-8weekstobedetected.IFAandELISAtechniquesareusedforthediagnosisofinfectionswith Chlamydophilapneumoniae.PCRprovidesamorerapidalternativeforidentificationof C.pneumoniae infection,replacingotherdirectmethodsofdiagnosisbecauseofitshighersensitivitybasedonamplification.Itenablesthedetectionofthepathogeninrespiratorysecretionsduringtheearlystagesofdisease,whenthereisnoantibodyresponse.Treatment:thetre