Detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae and Other Organisms of the Chlamydiaceae Family by Strand Displacement Amplification on the BD ProbeTec ™ ET System *

Three species in the Chlamydiaceae family: Chlamydophila pneumoniae (formerly Chlamydia pneumoniae), Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydophila psittaci (formerly Chlamydia psittaci) cause disease in humans including respiratory infection (pneumonia), trachoma, and sexually transmitted infections of the reproductive organs. Pneumonia can be caused by C. pneumoniae and C. psittaci (psittacosis) in adults, and by C. trachomatis in newborn infants. C. pneumoniae has also been associated with chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and asthma. Currently, commercially available molecular methods are only directed towards the detection of C. trachomatis in urine or on genital swabs and no such assays exist for the detection of other pathogens or potential pathogens within the Chlamydiaceae family. We have developed a novel Strand Displacement Amplification-based method for the detection of C. pneumoniae, C. trachomatis, and C. psittaci that involves real-time detection with a universal fluorescent energy transfer probe on the