Pathogenicity of environmental chlamydiae for humans and animals

Abstract

More and more attention has been paid to environmental chlamydiae in recent years. They were classified as pathogenic bacteria for both humans and animals. Thanks to molecular biology techniques, the following nine families of environmental chlamydiae were assigned to the order of Chlamydiales: Candidatus Clavichlamydiaceae, Criblamydiaceae, Parachlamydiaceae, Candidatus Piscichlamydiaceae, Rhabdochlamydiaceae, Simkaniaceae, Waddliaceae, Candidatus Actinochlamydiacae and Candidatus Parilichlamydiaceae. These bacteria are considered the infectious factors of zoonoses due to the fact that they can be found among pets and livestock such as cats, guinea pigs, sheep, cattle, and even fish. Many of these animals also suffer from diseases caused by these bacteria. In this study, while characterizing environmental chlamydiae, special attention has been paid to illnesses of the respiratory tract caused by Simkania negevensis, and to the abortions among people and ruminants caused by Waddlia chondrophila. Furthermore, the species of the Rhabdochlamydiaceae family , as well as the bacteria from the Parachlamydiaceae family responsible for eye illnesses in humans and animals, are also characterized in this work. Lastly, newly discovered fish chlamydiae, which are potential factors of illnesses in humans and terrestial animals, are also presented in this paper.