Chlamydia and sudden infant death syndrome. A study of 166 SIDS and 30 control cases

Jytte Banner, A G Lundemose, M Gregersen, K Helweg-Larsen, J Simonsen

17 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Chlamydia inclusions could be demonstrated by an immunofluorescence assay in formalin-fixed lung sections in 32 of 166 cases (19.4%) of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and in the lungs of only 1 of 30 infants with a known cause of death (3.3%). The difference is statistically significant (P = 0.04). Chlamydia trachomatis is an agent of pneumonia in 1-4 month-old infants who have acquired the disease from an infected cervix during birth, but other chlamydia species are also capable of causing pneumonia. The lung sections of the 32 chlamydia positive SIDS cases did not show typical histological signs of pneumonia. Even though chlamydia inclusions were detected in the lungs of 32 SIDS cases a causal relation between chlamydia infection and SIDS could not be demonstrated.
Original languageEnglish
JournalInternational Journal of Legal Medicine (Print)
Volume104
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)3-7
Number of pages5
ISSN0937-9827
Publication statusPublished - Dec 1990

Keywords

  • Age Distribution
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Chlamydia Infections
  • Denmark
  • Female
  • Fluorescent Antibody Technique
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical
  • Lung
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
  • Prospective Studies
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Sudden Infant Death

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