Targeted Metagenomic Sequencing for the Rapid Diagnosis of Chlamydia Caviae Pneumonia in an Elderly Patient without Known Immunosuppression or Animal Exposure: A Case Report and Literature Review
- 1Department of Infectious Diseases, Mianyang 404 Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China
- 2Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Mianyang 404 Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China
- 3Laboratory of Allergy and Precision Medicine, Chengdu Institute of Respiratory Health, The Third People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China
Abstract
Jiahuan Li,1,2,* Lu Li,1,* Junyi Wang,3 Chunhua Liu,2 Xiuming Rong,1 Jing Yang,1 Guo Si11Department of Infectious Diseases, Mianyang 404 Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Mianyang 404 Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Laboratory of Allergy and Precision Medicine, Chengdu Institute of Respiratory Health, The Third People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Guo Si, Email [email protected]: Chlamydia caviae, a pathogen primarily causing conjunctivitis and respiratory diseases in guinea pigs, rarely infects humans. Previous human cases were mostly associated with direct contact with sick guinea pigs or occurred in immunocompromised individuals.Case Presentation: We report a case of a 79-year-old female from Sichuan, China, without known immunosuppressive disease or therapy who presented with fever, fatigue, and left upper lobe consolidation, and was diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). She had no documented history of contact with guinea pigs or other pets. Empirical antibiotic therapy proved ineffective. Subsequently, probe capture-based targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS, specifically the MetaCAP™ panel) of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) rapidly identified C. caviae (sequence count: 1107, relative abundance: 54.50%) as the highly probable causative pathogen. Following targeted therapy with a doxycycline-moxifloxacin combination regimen, the patient’s temperature rapidly normalized, achieving significant clinical and radiological improvement before discharge.Conclusion: This case demonstrates that pulmonary infection caused by C. caviae can occur in individuals without known immunosuppressive conditions and without direct animal contact, raising questions about potential alternative transmission routes and zoonotic reservoirs. The early application of targeted next-generation sequencing is of critical clinical value for the precise diagnosis and prompt management of rare and elusive respiratory pathogens.Keywords: Chlamydia caviae, community-acquired pneumonia, targeted metagenomic sequencing, zoonosis, doxycycline, MetaCAP
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BibTeX
@article{li2026targeted,
title = {{Targeted Metagenomic Sequencing for the Rapid Diagnosis of Chlamydia Caviae Pneumonia in an Elderly Patient without Known Immunosuppression or Animal Exposure: A Case Report and Literature Review}},
author = {Jiahuan Li and Lu Li and Junyi Wang and Chunhua Liu and Xiuming Rong and Jing Yang and Guo Si},
journal = {Infection and Drug Resistance},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.2147/idr.s648250},
url = {https://www.dovepress.com/targeted-metagenomic-sequencing-for-the-rapid-diagnosis-of-chlamydia-c-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDR},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Targeted Metagenomic Sequencing for the Rapid Diagnosis of Chlamydia Caviae Pneumonia in an Elderly Patient without Known Immunosuppression or Animal Exposure: A Case Report and Literature Review
AU - Jiahuan Li
AU - Lu Li
AU - Junyi Wang
AU - Chunhua Liu
AU - Xiuming Rong
AU - Jing Yang
AU - Guo Si
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Infection and Drug Resistance
DO - 10.2147/idr.s648250
UR - https://www.dovepress.com/targeted-metagenomic-sequencing-for-the-rapid-diagnosis-of-chlamydia-c-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDR
AB - Jiahuan Li,1,2,* Lu Li,1,* Junyi Wang,3 Chunhua Liu,2 Xiuming Rong,1 Jing Yang,1 Guo Si11Department of Infectious Diseases, Mianyang 404 Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Mianyang 404 Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China; 3Laboratory of Allergy and Precision Medicine, Chengdu Institute of Respiratory Health, The Third People’s Hospital of Chengdu, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Guo Si, Email [email protected]: Chlamydia caviae, a pathogen primarily causing conjunctivitis and respiratory diseases in guinea pigs, rarely infects humans. Previous human cases were mostly associated with direct contact with sick guinea pigs or occurred in immunocompromised individuals.Case Presentation: We report a case of a 79-year-old female from Sichuan, China, without known immunosuppressive disease or therapy who presented with fever, fatigue, and left upper lobe consolidation, and was diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). She had no documented history of contact with guinea pigs or other pets. Empirical antibiotic therapy proved ineffective. Subsequently, probe capture-based targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS, specifically the MetaCAP™ panel) of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) rapidly identified C. caviae (sequence count: 1107, relative abundance: 54.50%) as the highly probable causative pathogen. Following targeted therapy with a doxycycline-moxifloxacin combination regimen, the patient’s temperature rapidly normalized, achieving significant clinical and radiological improvement before discharge.Conclusion: This case demonstrates that pulmonary infection caused by C. caviae can occur in individuals without known immunosuppressive conditions and without direct animal contact, raising questions about potential alternative transmission routes and zoonotic reservoirs. The early application of targeted next-generation sequencing is of critical clinical value for the precise diagnosis and prompt management of rare and elusive respiratory pathogens.Keywords: Chlamydia caviae, community-acquired pneumonia, targeted metagenomic sequencing, zoonosis, doxycycline, MetaCAP
SN - 1178-6973
ER -