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Summary
Pneumococci are a type of streptococcus bacteria. The bacteria spread through contact with people who are ill or by healthy people who carry the bacteria in the back of their nose. Pneumococcal infections can be mild or severe. The most common types of infections are
How the diagnosis is made depends upon where the infection is. Your doctor will do a physical exam and health history. Possible tests may include blood, imaging, or lab tests. Treatment is with antibiotics. Vaccines can prevent pneumococcal infections. There are two vaccines. One is for infants and young children. The other is for people at high risk, including those who are over 65 years old, have chronic illnesses or weak immune systems, smoke, have asthma, or live in long-term care facilities.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Diagnosis and Tests
- Blood Culture Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
- Pneumococcal Disease: Diagnosis and Treatment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-
What Is a Chest X Ray?
(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Pneumococcal Disease: Risk Factors and Transmission (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Pneumococcal Vaccination Recommendations for Children and Adults by Age and/or Risk Factor (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
- Pneumococcal Vaccination: Who Needs It? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Pneumococcus: Questions and Answers (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF
Treatments and Therapies
-
MedlinePlus: Antibiotics (National Library of Medicine)
Also in Spanish
Specifics
- Pneumococcal Disease (National Foundation for Infectious Diseases)
- Pneumococcal Disease: Types of Infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-
Pneumococcal Pneumonia (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
Statistics and Research
- Pneumococcal Disease Fast Facts (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Clinical Trials
-
ClinicalTrials.gov: Pneumococcal Infections (National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Children
- Pneumococcal Infections (American Academy of Pediatrics)
- Pneumococcal Vaccines (PCV, PPSV) (Nemours Foundation)
Patient Handouts
- Meningitis - pneumococcal Also in Spanish
- Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Also in Spanish
- Pneumococcal Disease: Information for Parents (American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF
- Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine: What You Need to Know (Immunization Action Coalition) - PDF Also in Spanish
