Pneumonia
Pneumonia is a lung disease. Pneumococcal pneumonia can infect the upper respiratory tract and can spread to the blood, lungs, middle ear, or nervous system. Pneumococcal pneumonia mainly causes illness in children younger than 2 years old and adults 65 years of age or older. The elderly are especially at risk of getting seriously ill and dying from this disease. In addition, people with certain medical conditions such as chronic heart, lung, or liver diseases or sickle cell anemia are also at increased risk for getting pneumococcal pneumonia. People with HIV infection, AIDS, or people who have had organ transplants and are taking medicines that lower their resistance to infection are also at high risk of getting this disease.
Cause
Pneumonia can be caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria, and sometimes fungi. Pneumococcal pneumonia is caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae. S. pneumoniae is also called pneumococcus.
Symptoms
Pneumococcal pneumonia may begin suddenly. You may first have a severe shaking chill which is usually followed by
- High fever
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Rapid breathing
- Chest pains
Your health care provider usually will prescribe antibiotics to treat this disease. The symptoms of pneumococcal pneumonia usually go away within 12 to 36 hours after you start taking medicine. Some bacteria such as S. pneumoniae, however, are now capable of resisting and fighting off antibiotics. Such antibiotic resistance is increasing worldwide because these medicines have been overused or misused. Therefore, if you are at risk of getting pneumococcal pneumonia, you should talk with your health care provider about what you can do to prevent it.
Prevention
The pneumococcal vaccine is the only way to prevent getting pneumococcal pneumonia. Vaccines are available for children and adults.
The National Immunization Program (NIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you get the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine if you are in any of the following groups.
- You are 65 years old or older
- You have a serious long-term health problem such as heart disease, sickle cell disease, alcoholism, lung disease (not including asthma), diabetes, or liver cirrhosis
- Your resistance to infection is lowered due to
HIV infection or AIDS
Lymphoma, leukemia, or other cancers
Cancer treatment with x-rays or medicines
Treatment with long-term steroid medicines
Bone marrow or organ transplant
Kidney failure or kidney syndrome
Damaged spleen or no spleen - You are an Alaskan Native or from certain Native American populations
Credit: National Institute of Health.