- Vaccination with pneumococcal vaccine helps to protect against pneumococcal disease. All babies in New Zealand can be immunised against pneumococcal disease as part of their free childhood immunisations.
- Pneumococcal disease is caused by a bug called Streptococcus pneumoniae (also called pneumococcus). This is one of the many bugs found in the throat of healthy people where it does not cause any problems. But it can spread from there to cause infections in different parts of your body.
- If the infection is in your lungs, blood or brain, you may have some of the following: sudden fever, shaking/chills, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, stiff neck, disorientation and sensitivity to light. You will need urgent hospital treatment.
- Those most at risk of getting sick are babies, those over 55 to 65 years of age and those with weakened immune systems. It is more common among Māori and Pasifika populations.
- Pneumococcal disease is treated with antibiotics.
Causes
Pneumococcal disease are infections caused by the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium. The infections can range from mild to severe, even life-threatening such as infections of the lungs (pneumonia), blood (septicaemia) and brain (meningitis).
Pneumococcal bacteria is one of the many bugs found in the throat of healthy people where it does not cause any problems. It is easily passed from person to person by coughing, sneezing and close contact. Not everyone who catches or carries the bacteria gets sick.