AN EPIDEMIC OF INFECTIONS DUE TO CHLAMYDIA-PNEUMONIAE IN MILITARY CONSCRIPTS

A prospective observational study of an epidemic of infection due to C hlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR in Finnish military trainees provided new information on immunity following infection, the range of clinical syndromes and complications, and cell culture isolation. One-half of the trainees studied (43 of 86) had laboratory evidence of C pneumonia e infection. The etiologic association of C pneumoniae with disease wa s strengthened by the sharp increase in cases of pneumonia and in outp atient visits for acute respiratory disease along with the laboratory evidence of infection. The pattern of serological response suggested t hat 23 of the trainees had a primary TWAR infection and 20 had a reinf ection. Evidence that prior infection modified the illness included th e frequency of hospitalization (12 with primary infections vs. 1 with reinfection), the development of pneumonia (10 vs. 0), and the require ment for repeated courses of antibiotic therapy (13 courses vs. 0). Is olation was more frequent in HL cells (n = 25) than in HeLa 229 cells (n = 10).