In the United States, 24 million people have asthma, and the incidence is increasing. The onset of asthma is often preceded by ear infections, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Amoxicillin is the most widely prescribed antibiotic in the United States, and considered first-line treatment for acute respiratory infections.

When penicillin drugs are used to treat intracellular chlamydia pneumonia, penicillin destroys the cell wall but not the pathogen; the chlamydia reticulate body changes shape, becomes larger, and makes more infectious elementary bodies; and the life cycle of the pathogen is extended from 30 hours to 72 hours. Penicillin also converts the organism to a state in which it can survive and thrive in the endothelial cells of the lung.