Following up on this last post, in addition to the more familiar STD chlamydia, there's also a bacterium called Chlamydia pneumoniae which can cause respiratory tract infection and pneumonia. Maybe that's what the Chinese are referring to rather than the virus.
Here's a description of it from the CDC:
Chlamydia pneumoniae
Clinical Features
Pneumonia or bronchitis, gradual onset of cough with little or no fever. Less common presentations are pharyngitis, laryngitis, and sinusitis.
Etiologic Agent
Chlamydia pneumoniae. This bacterium was recognized in 1983 as a respiratory pathogen, after isolation from a college student with pharyngitis.
Incidence
Each year an estimated 50,000 adults are hospitalized with pneumonia in the United States. The overall incidence is unknown.
Sequelae
C. pneumoniae infection may be associated with atherosclerotic vascular disease. Associations with Alzheimer?s disease, asthma, and reactive arthritis have been proposed.
Transmission
Person-to-person transmission by respiratory secretions.
Risk Groups
All ages at risk but most common in school-age children. By age 20 years, 50% of population have evidence of past infection. Reinfection throughout life appears to be common.
Surveillance
No national or state surveillance exists.
Trends
Unknown. Improved diagnostic testing may lead to improved recognition of infection.
Challenges
Isolation of the etiologic agent is difficult and paired acute- and convalescent-phase sera are required to confirm the diagnosis using antibody tests. There are no known methods to prevent infection or possible sequelae. The role of C. pneumoniae in atherosclerotic vascular disease needs further definition.
Opportunities
To apply new laboratory methods to develop better diagnostic tests and to evaluate association between C. pneumoniae infection and atherosclerosis.
December 2002
Up to now, this bacterium is best known as being associated with a theory that it might be an underlying cause of heart disease.
The susceptibility of most strains of chlamydia (including the STD version) to antibiotics makes me kind of dubious that it's the culprit here - many of the earlier patients were treated with heavy duty antibiotics without noticeable effect. Of course this new strain might just be resistant to the particular antibiotics used.
Peter |
