Diagnosis of Ornithosis by Cell Culture and Polymerase Chain Reaction in a Patient with Chronic Pneumonia

• Published in: Clinical infectious diseases 1995-12, Vol.21 (6), p.1495-1497
• Main Authors: Essig, A., Zucs, P., Susa, M., Wasenauer, G., Mamat, U., Hetzel, M., Vogel, U., Wieshammer, S., Brade, H., Marre, R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Antibodies; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the respiratory system; Biological and medical sciences; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid - microbiology; Cell culture techniques; Cells, Cultured; Chlamydia; Chlamydia psittaci; Chlamydophila psittaci - genetics; Chlamydophila psittaci - immunology; Chlamydophila psittaci - isolation & purification; Chronic Disease; Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay; Female; Hospital admissions; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Lipopolysaccharides; Medical sciences; Pneumonia; Pneumonia, Bacterial - diagnosis; Pneumonia, Bacterial - physiopathology; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Psittacosis; Psittacosis - diagnosis; Psittacosis - physiopathology; Staining and Labeling
• ISSN: 1058-4838; 1537-6591
• DOI: 10.1093/clinids/21.6.1495

We report the case of a woman who had pneumonia due to Chlamydia psittaci. A Chlamydia species was determined to be the causative agent of the pneumonia because it was isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, because it could be detected in lung biopsy specimens by the direct immunofluorescence technique, and because Chlamydia-specific antibodies could be detected by ELISA and microimmunofluorescence. The infectious agent could not be identified at the species level with use of serological techniques, but the isolate was determined to be C. psittaci by PCR with use of species- and genus-specific sequences within the chlamydiallipopolysaccharide biosynthesis gene gseA. The case reported herein exemplifies the problems encountered in diagnosing ornithosis and shows that isolation of the etiologic agent followed by identification of the species by PCR is helpful in diagnosing this rare disease. In addition, the findings in our case show that laboratory personnel who are conducting tests for Chlamydia pneumoniae should be aware of the risk of accidentally isolating highly infectious C. psittaci organisms.