PREVENTION AND CONTROL

• chlorination of water

• proper cooking of foods (particularly poultry) and pasteurization of milk

• handwashing after animal contact

FACTORS FACILITATING EMERGENCE

• improved recognition of the organism

• an increase in poultry consumption in recent years

DISEASE(S) AND SYMPTOMS

• fever, myalgias, cough, sore throat, sinusitis

• illness is usually mild, but recovery is slow; cough tends to last for more than two weeks

DIAGNOSIS

• isolation of organism from throat or sputum

INFECTIOUS AGENT

• Chlamydia pneumoniae (TWAR), a chlamydia

• strain name is derived from designation of first two isolates, TW-183 from Taiwan and AR-39 (acute respiratory)

MODE OF TRANSMISSION

• person to person; thought to be acquired by inhalation of infective organisms

• possibly by direct contact with secretions of an infected person

DISTRIBUTION

• probably worldwide

• the majority of cases have occurred in North America, Asia, and Europe

INCUBATION PERIOD AND COMMUNICABILITY

• 1 to 4 weeks

• period of communicability is unknown but presumed to be long, based on duration of documented outbreaks