Chlamydia pnuemoniae [MD96]

Chlamydia may be found in the form of an elementary body and a reticulate body and Chlamydia species have genomes of approximately 1 to 1.3 megabases in length. Chlamydophila pneumoniae, known as the Taiwan acute respiratory agent (TWAR), is a species of Chlamydophila, an obligate intracellular bacterium that infects humans and is a major cause of pneumonia. C. pneumoniae has a complex life cycle and must infect another cell to reproduce; thus, it is classified as an obligate intracellular pathogen. This atypical bacterium commonly causes pharyngitis, bronchitis, coronary artery disease and atypical pneumonia in addition to several other possible diseases.