The rapid spread of COVID-19 has raised alarms worldwide. At present, COVID-19 has been established in many countries, the global epidemic of COVID-19 has continued to escalate, and the number of confirmed diagnoses in Italy, Iran, and South Korea is still increasing. The rate of spread worldwide is worrying.
However, not only is COVID-19's virus transmission so powerful, we also need to pay attention to another highly infectious pneumonia, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and human beings are its sole hosts.
What is Chlamydia pneumoniae?
Chlamydia pneumoniae is one of the most common pathogens of human respiratory diseases. Chlamydia pneumoniae infection is very common in the population and the incidence is high, with chronic and repeated infections being more common.
Chlamydia pneumoniae infections occur frequently in winter and spring, and are transmitted through droplets and air. The susceptible population includes children, the elderly, as well as smokers and bronchial asthma patients, and people who live and work in tobacco smoke environments.
What are the symptoms of Chlamydia pneumoniae?
Children and adolescents are usually mildly infected, self-limiting, and easily overlooked, so it can lead to chronic illness and chronic cough. In the early clinical stages, symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections such as sore throat, hoarseness, and runny nose are common. Pain is most common.
Similar to COVID-19, Chlamydia pneumoniae can also cause low or moderate fever. The symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections gradually recede and the cough gradually worsens in 1 to 4 weeks. It is paroxysmal dry cough. If it is not effectively treated, the cough can last several times. Month long. Wet murmurs can be heard in the lungs.
Chlamydia pneumoniae can also cause bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and coronary heart disease. In severe cases, the disease can be exacerbated by the underlying disease or cause complications such as bacterial infection and death.
How to check for Chlamydia pneumoniae?
Because there is no characteristic symptom of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection for clinical diagnosis and normal white blood cell count, laboratory diagnosis is particularly important.
1. Isolation culture method: It is the most traditional laboratory diagnostic method, but it has higher requirements, more complicated technology, and tedious operation. Mycoplasma contamination can easily lead to a decrease in the positive rate.
2. Serological testing: It is the main method for diagnosing CP infection. Serological diagnostic methods mainly include: micro-immunofluorescence (MIF), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), complement binding test (CF), and so on.
3. MIF: strong technical specificity, high sensitivity and simple and fast method, so it is praised as the "gold standard" for diagnosis of CP infection by scholars at home and abroad. MIF is an indirect immunofluorescent antibody detection method that can also identify IgM and IgG, and is highly specific for the diagnosis of CP. However, the method of making the antigen film is complicated, and the laboratory requires high conditions.
In acute Chlamydia pneumoniae infections, IgM appears more than 3 weeks after the illness, and IgG rises 6 to 8 weeks after the illness. Most patients take blood samples for examination within 2 weeks after admission, which will inevitably cause false negatives Therefore, patients with Chlamydia pneumoniae may become “fish leaking out of the net”, thus missing the good treatment opportunity.
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