• THE INCIDENCE OF CHLAMYDIA PNEUMONIAE INFECTION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

Abstract

Chlamydia pneumomae has been shown to be an important and common respiratory pathogen in humans. Although the role of Chlamydia pneumoniae as a cause of Pneumonia has been established, the potential importance of Chlamydia pneumoniae infection in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has not been defined.

Serology is currently the tool used most often for routine diagnosis of recent Chlamydia pneumoniae infections. The standard serological technique at this moment is the MIF test. However it has a significant subjective component and requires experience and skill to interpret the fluorescence patterns. The use of ELISA is easier and more objective but its sensitivity and specificity were controversial.

The primary goal of this work is to study the possible association between Chlamydia pneumoniae and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to evaluate the usefulness of rONA LPS ELISA Compared to MIF as a Gold standard for diagnosis 'Of Chlamydia pneumomae infections.

We conducted this study on 30 cases with established chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients who were further divided into two groups according to the severity of the disease. They were investigated for Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies Ig G & Ig M by MIF

test and ELISA. We also investigate 30 normal age and sex matched persons (control group) for Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies by MIF and ELISA.