DIAGNOSIS OF ORNITHOSIS BY CELL-CULTURE AND POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTIONIN A PATIENT WITH CHRONIC PNEUMONIA

We report the case of a woman who had pneumonia due to Chlamydia psitt aci, A Chlamydia species was determined to be the causative agent of t he 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 antibodie s could be detected by ELISA and microimmunofluorescence. The infectio us agent could not be identified at the species level with use of sero logical techniques, but the isolate was determined to be C. psittaci b y PCR with use of species- and genus-specific sequences within the chl amydial lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis gene gseA. The case reported h erein exemplifies the problems encountered in diagnosing ornithosis an d shows that isolation of the etiologic agent followed by identificati on of the species by PCR is helpful in diagnosing this rare disease. I n addition, the findings in our case show that laboratory personnel wh o are conducting tests for Chlamydia pneumoniae should be aware of the risk of accidentally isolating highly infectious C. psittaci organism s.