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Occurrence of Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae in paediatric respiratory infections

¹ Dept of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, ² Depts of Pathology, and ³ Paediatric Pulmonology, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, MA, USA.

CORRESPONDENCE: W. C. Webley, University of Massachusetts, Dept of Microbiology, Morrill Science Center IVN Rm 203, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. Fax: 1 4135451578. E-mail: wilmore{at}microbio.umass.edu

Keywords: Asthma, Chlamydia, chronic, lung disease

Received: February 8, 2008
Accepted October 1, 2008

An emerging body of evidence suggests that half of asthma in both children and adults is associated with chronic lung infection. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of viable Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cp) and C. trachomatis (Ct) in the respiratory tracts of paediatric patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples obtained from 182 children undergoing bronchoscopy for clinical reasons were assayed using PCR analysis, in vitro tissue culture and immunofluorescence staining for the presence of Cp and Ct.

Chlamydia-specific DNA was detected by PCR in 124 (68%) out of 182 patients; 79 were positive for Cp, 77 positive for Ct and 32 for both organisms; 75 patients had cultivable Chlamydia. Ct DNA prevalence decreased, whereas Cp positivity generally increased with age. A total of 59 out of 128 asthma patients and 16 out of 54 nonasthmatics were Chlamydia culture positive. When the patients were divided into inflammatory versus noninflammatory airway disease, there were 69 (46%) out of 150 and six (18%) out of 32 BALF samples with cultivable Chlamydia, respectively.

Viable Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia trachomatis occur frequently in children with chronic respiratory diseases and may be more prevalent in asthma patients. To the current authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of viable Chlamydia trachomatis in the lungs of children.