Evidence for the presence of Simkania negevensis in drinking water and in reclaimed wastewater in Israel.

Simkania negevensis is a recently discovered chlamydia-like intracellular microorganism which has been associated with bronchiolitis in infants and with community-acquired pneumonia in adults; a high seroprevalence of antibodies to the microorganism has been found in various population groups. S. negevensis can be grown in various cell lines as well as in free-living amoebae such as Acanthamoeba polyphaga.