[A new respiratory tract pathogen].

Chlamydia pneumoniae strain TWAR, a newly described Chlamydia organism is a common cause of pneumonia and other acute respiratory tract infections. Most TWAR infections are mild or asymptomatic, but occasionally severe pneumonia in elderly patients or with on going chronic diseases has been observed. Population antibody prevalence has shown that TWAR infection is world-wide infection and an important health problem since under-developing countries where the high rate of child death is predominant, TWAR infections cause acute respiratory tract infection in children who are less than 5 yrs of age. Re-infection during life-time emphasizes the importance of Chlamydia pneumoniae.