Which organism is a common cause of conjunctivitis in newborns and can cause pneumonia if transmitted perinatally?

• A. Chlamydia trachomatis
• B. Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• C. Streptococcus pneumoniae
• D. Haemophilus influenzae

Answer: (A)

The question tests how perinatal pathogens can seed the eye at birth and later affect the lungs. Chlamydia trachomatis is the classic organism in newborns that is transmitted from the birth canal, causes conjunctivitis several days after birth, and can disseminate to cause pneumonia in infancy. The conjunctivitis is often mucopurulent rather than immediately severe, and the associated pneumonia typically presents weeks after birth with a persistent cough and tachypnea rather than high fever.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae can also involve the newborn eye, but it tends to present very soon after birth with a more severe, purulent discharge and carries different timing and danger to the cornea, while the pneumonia link is not as characteristic. The other bacteria listed are not the typical perinatal pathogens that connect neonatal conjunctivitis with subsequent pneumonia.