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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.
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.
Pneumococcus is spread through contact between people who
are ill or who carry the bacteria in their throat. You can
get pneumococcal pneumonia from respiratory droplets from
the nose or mouth of an infected person. It is common for
people, especially children, to carry the bacteria in their
throats without being sick.
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
Other symptoms may include
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Tiredness
- Muscle aches
Your health care provider can diagnose pneumonia based on
your
- Symptoms
- Physical exam
- Lab tests
- Chest x-ray
Other bacteria and germs also can cause pneumonia. Therefore,
if you have any of the symptoms of pneumonia, you should
get diagnosed early and start taking medicine, if appropriate.
Your health care provider can usually diagnose pneumococcal
pneumonia by finding S. pneumoniae bacteria in your
blood, saliva, or lung fluid.
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.
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
NIP also recommends that all babies and children younger
than 2 years old get the pneumococcal vaccine.
Contact your health care provider to find out whether you
or your child should be vaccinated to prevent pneumococcal
pneumonia.
To read the rest of this article from the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, please click here: http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/pneumonia/
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