Which statement about Chlamydophila pneumoniae is not true?

• A. Humans become infected from animal reservoirs.
• B. Common agent of lower respiratory tract infection
• C. Tetracycline and erythromycin are effective treatments
• D. Research has found an association with atherosclerosis

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is how Chlamydophila pneumoniae is transmitted and what it can cause. This organism is a human-adapted respiratory pathogen that spreads between people through respiratory droplets, not from animal sources. There isn’t an established animal reservoir for it, so the notion that humans get infected from animals is incorrect.

Chlamydophila pneumoniae commonly causes lower respiratory tract infections, including bronchitis and atypical pneumonia, so that statement is true. It’s an intracellular bacterium; antibiotics that penetrate cells, such as tetracyclines and erythromycin, are effective treatments, so that statement is also true. Regarding atherosclerosis, some studies have explored a possible association, but the link is not proven to be causal, so that statement is not definitively established as true or false in a strict sense; it’s an area of ongoing research. The incorrect statement is that humans become infected from animal reservoirs.