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Original article

Vol. 152 No. 0102 (2022)

Zoonotic Chlamydiae as rare causes of severe pneumonia

  • Frank Imkamp
  • Sarah Albini
  • Michael Karbach
  • Nina Kimmich
  • Carlotta Spinelli
  • Sebastian Herren
  • Remy Sprecher
  • Karin Meier
  • Nicole Borel
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/SMW.2022.w30102
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2022;152:w30102
Published
11.01.2022

Summary

Zoonotic species of the Chlamydiaceae family should be considered as rare pathogenic agents of severe atypical pneumonia. A fatal case of a severe pneumonia due to Chlamydia psittaci was traced back to pet birds, and pneumonia in a pregnant woman was attributed to abortions in a sheep and goat flock, being the source of Chlamydia abortus. The two SARS‑CoV‑2-negative pneumonia cases presented here were investigated in an inter-disciplinary approach involving physicians and veterinarians. State-of-art molecular methods allowed the identification and genotyping of zoonotic Chlamydiae.

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