[Application of PCR for isolation of Chlamydia pneumoniae]

Chlamydia pneumoniae was isolated from the throat swab of a 5-year-old girl with acute bronchitis. The titers of IgM and IgG antibodies to C. pneumoniae in the serum were 1:20 and 1:2560, respectively. C. pneumoniae genome was detected by polymerase chain reaction in the throat swab and the infected cells after three passages, while C. pneumoniae was isolated from the throat swab after five passages by cell culture. PCR is considered to be a helpful method to isolate C. pneumoniae efficiently in routine cell-cultures.