Chlamydia trachomatis: a major agent of respiratory infections in infants from low-income families.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) due to Chlamydia trachomatis in newborn infants and to describe the clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics of the disease.

Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out over a 12-month period. All infants up to 6 months of age admitted consecutively at the Centro Pediátrico Professor Hosannah de Oliveira of the Universidade Federal da Bahia in Salvador, Brazil, and diagnosed with LRTI according to clinical and/or radiological criteria were included in the study.