Halberstaedter-von Prowazek bodies - Intracytoplasmic inclusions that vary in size from minute (elementary bodies) to large (reticulate or initial bodies). They represent the causal agent of trachoma (chlamydia trachomatis) and are sometimes known as Trachoma bodies. The disease is spread by aerosol or contact although flies may help transfer ocular infections in endemic areas. See Elementary and Reticulate bodies and also Coccoid X bodies for psittacosis, another type of chlamydial infection