Flu / Pneumo Information

* What is pneumococcal disease?

Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by a certain type of bacteria. When these bacteria invade the lungs, they cause the most common kind of bacterial pneumonia. The same bacteria can also attack the bloodstream (bacteremia) and/or the brain (meningitis). The infection kills thousands of people in the United States each, most of them over 65 years of age.

*What are the symptoms of pneumococcal disease (pneumonia)?

High fever, cough with chest pain and mucus, shaking chills, breathlessness, and chest pain that increases with breathing. Symptoms of pneumococcal meningitis include stiff neck, fever, mental confusion and disorientation, and photophobia (extreme sensitivity to light). The symptoms of pneumococcal bacteremia may include a combination of pneumonia, meningitis, arthritis and fever.BACK