title: Pneumonia part 2: signs, symptoms and vaccinations.
abstract: Streptococcus pneumoniae is a cause of significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. There are many different serotypes of the organism which may be carried by up to 50% of children under the age of 6 years, as well as many adults. The organism is associated with both pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease, which may result in septicemia or meningitis. It is also a principal cause of otits media and sinusitis, which are not life-threatening, but generate a lot of discomfort, loss of schooling or working days, and around 60 000 GP consultations per year in the UK. Vaccination is a safe and effective way to prevent this infection from causing significant ill health.
authors.affiliation: Independent Travel Health and Immunization Specialist Nurse, Cheshire.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Driver
mesh_terms: D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing; D006801:Humans; D009017:Morbidity; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing; D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D022242:Pneumococcal Vaccines