MYCOPLASMA-PNEUMONIAE AND CHLAMYDIA-PNEUMONIAE STRAIN TWAR INFECTIONSIN UNITED-STATES-MARINE-CORPS RECRUITS

Paired sera from 208 healthy Marine Corps recruits undergoing 11 weeks of basic training in San Diego during 1989 were studied by complement fixation and microimmunofluorescence techniques for antibody to Mycop lasma pneumoniae and Chlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR infections. Upon entering training, 52.7% and 64.4% of the recruits had evidence of pr ior infection with M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae, respectively. At t he end of training, 5.9% of recruits had evidence of new infections wi th M. pneumoniae (4-fold antibody rise) and 3.8% had evidence for new infections with C. pneumoniae (4-fold antibody rise). Recruits with ev idence of previous infection with C. pneumoniae had a lower relative o dds of new infection during training with this agent (odds ratio = 0.0 7, 95% confidence interval 0.00-0.61). These data demonstrate that, li ke their counterparts in Scandinavia, U.S. military recruits also suff er from C. pneumoniae infections. Both M. pneumoniae and C. pneumoniae should be considered as potential causes of respiratory disease among U.S. military trainees.