Chlamydia pneumoniae is a kind of bacteria that can cause infections in the lungs, like pneumonia. C. pneumoniae is one of the reasons why people get pneumonia or lung infections outside of a hospital. But not everyone who comes in contact with C. pneumoniae will get pneumonia.
How it gets around?
People spread C. pneumoniae when they cough or sneeze, which makes tiny droplets of mucus that carry the bacteria. The droplets and germs are then breathed in by other people. People can also get sick if they touch something that has droplets from a sick person on it and then touches their mouth or nose.
People who are around someone who has C. pneumoniae infection for a short time usually do not get sick. But the bacteria tend to spread quickly among people who live together. Most infections caused by C. pneumoniae take a long time to show up (the time between breathing in the bacteria and developing symptoms). Most of the time, symptoms show up 3 to 4 weeks after exposure.
Who are at high risk?
C. pneumoniae can make people of all ages sick. People are most likely to get it for the first time when they are in school or when they are young adults. But older adults are most likely to get infected again.
People who live or work in crowded places where outbreaks are most common8 are at a higher risk, such as:
- Schools and dorms for college students
- Barracks for soldiers
- The setting for long-term care
- Hospitals/ Prisons
- When C. pneumoniae gets into the body, older people are more likely to get serious diseases like pneumonia.
What are the symptoms?
Most of the time, a Chlamydia pneumoniae infection is a mild illness that causes an infection in the upper respiratory tract. This type of infection can cause a sore throat, an ear infection, or a sinus infection. Some common signs are:
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Fatigue (feeling tired)
- Low-grade fever
- Loss of voice or a hoarse voice
- Throat pain
- Cough that gets worse slowly and can last weeks or months
- Headache
C. pneumoniae can also cause infections in the lower part of the respiratory system, like bronchitis and pneumonia. Bronchitis is an inflammation or swelling of the airways that bring air to the lungs (lung infection). Some reports say that people with bacterial pneumonia caused by C. pneumoniae are more likely to get laryngitis (inflammation of the voice box) than people with other types of bacterial pneumonia.
After being exposed to the bacteria, it can take 3 to 4 weeks for symptoms to show up. Symptoms can also last for weeks after they first show up.
Diagnosis
Doctors may use a:
- Lab test where a sample of phlegm or a swab from the nose or throat is taken.
- Blood test
Treatment
Antibiotics can be used to treat infections caused by C. pneumoniae, but most people will get better without medicine.
Doctors can use different kinds of antibiotics to treat infections caused by C. pneumoniae. If a doctor says that a person has a C. pneumoniae infection, they will figure out the best way to treat it.
Complications
Most of the time, a C. pneumoniae infection isn’t too bad. But serious problems can happen that require care or treatment in a hospital. These problems include:
- Asthma getting worse
- Encephalitis (swelling in the brain)
- Myocarditis (swelling of the heart)
- Chronic infections can be caused by C. pneumoniae. Some experts think that long-term infections with C. pneumoniae could lead to long-term conditions like asthma, arthritis, and atherosclerosis (plaque buildup in arteries).
Vaccine
At the moment, there is no vaccine against Chlamydia pneumoniae. To make an effective subunit vaccine against C. pneumoniae infections, it is important to find the immunogenic antigens. Also, there aren’t enough places around the world that can find and diagnose Chlamydia pneumoniae.
