Transmission of Chlamydia pneumoniae.

To investigate the transmission of Chlamydia pneumoniae via hands and environmental surfaces, its survival on various surfaces was studied. The organism remained viable on formica countertops for 30 h and in tissue paper for 12 h. Measurable quantities of chlamydiae were transferred from these environmental surfaces to hands. However, titers were low and survival time on hands was limited to 10-15 min. C. pneumoniae survived small particle aerosolization well and was infectious to mice by both direct inoculation and aerosolization. These observations suggest that several mechanisms of transmission of C. pneumoniae are possible, including the transfer of fomites from environmental surfaces with subsequent autoinoculation.