Abstract :

Objectives: To detect 'Chlamydia pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Legionella pneumophila' simultaneously in hospitalized community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients in Southern Jordan; the diagnostic utility of PCR and ELISA methods in determining their prevalence, detection of acute infection and identification of the causal agent from a single serum. <br /><br /> Methods: Blood sera and nasopharyngeal samples were collected from 200 participants (100 individuals from each of CAP patients and controls). Seroprevalences of IgG and IgM antibodies raised against the three pathogens was analysed in collected sera by ELISA, while presence of their DNA in nasopharyngeal samples was detected by standard PCR. Concurrent infection was detected by multiplex PCR. <br /><br /> Results: Based on ELISA-IgG, the general prevalence rates of 'C. pneumoniae and M. pneumoniae' were significantly higher in CAP cases than controls (p= 0.02 and p<= 0.001, respectively); anti-'L. pneumophila' IgG was not detected in all participants. Based on ELISA-IgM and PCR in detecting acute infections, significant higher detection frequencies of anti-'C. pneumoniae' IgM and DNA were noticed in CAP patients compared to control cohort (p= 0.01 and p<= 0.001, respectively); an insignificant difference in prevalence rates of 'M. pneumoniae and L. pneumophila' between patients and controls were reported in both assays. Concurrent detection of the three pathogens was noticed in 30% of entire CAP cases. <br /><br /> Conclusions: Simultaneous use of ELISA and PCR assays may allow rapidity and improvement in detection of CAP etiology in acute diseases; 'C. pneumoniae' is the most possible etiological agent for CAP in Southern Jordan population during the study period.