[Chlamydia trachomatis infant pneumonitis (author's transl)]

Abstract

A subacute pneumonic disease in a young infant characterized by insidious onset and protracted course is described. The child was afebrile, tachypneic, with a staccato cough, conjunctivitis, eosinophilia and disseminated crepitations on auscultation. The chest X-ray showed extensive infiltration and hyperexpansion. Immunoglobulin fractions G and M and antibody titers against chlamydia trachomatis were elevated. These findings suggest the existence of chlamydial pneumonitis in small infants in Austria. It will only be possible to estimate the incidence of chlamydial disease when the appropriate microbiologic techniques are available.