Initial infections in women with this organism are often asymptomatic.

• A. Household pets are reservoirs
• B. Initial infections in women are often asymptomatic
• C. Ferments glucose and maltose
• D. Grows readily on sheep blood agar

Answer: (B)

Initial infections with this organism in women are often asymptomatic because many carriers show no noticeable symptoms, allowing the infection to persist and potentially cause complications like pelvic inflammatory disease if not detected through screening. This quiet nature is a hallmark that makes routine testing essential for sexually active individuals. The organism is an obligate intracellular pathogen, so it does not grow on standard culture media such as sheep blood agar and requires living cells or specialized systems to culture. It is primarily transmitted between humans, not typically associated with household pets as reservoirs. Regarding metabolism, it does not ferment maltose (it typically ferments glucose only), so the statement that it ferments both glucose and maltose is inaccurate.