Overview:

  1. Wyrwich. WK, et al. Observational longitudinal study of symptom burden and time for recovery from community-acquired pneumonia reported by older adults surveyed nationwide using the CAP Burden of Illness Questionnaire. Patient Related Outcome Measures 2015:6 215–223.
  2. World Health Organization, Pneumonia in children. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  3. American Lung Association, Get The Facts About Pneumococcal Pneumonia, https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/pneumococcal  (Accessed 2nd Oct 2024)
  4. American Lung Association, #DYK You Can Still Get Pneumonia in the Summer? https://www.lung.org/blog/you-can-still-get-pneumonia-in-summer. (Accessed 2nd Oct 2024)
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pneumococcal Disease: Causes and How It Spreads. https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/causes/index.html#cdc_causes_risk-risk-factors (Accessed 8th July 2024)
  6. National Foundation For Infectious Diseases, What Is Pneumococcal Disease?, https://www.nfid.org/infectious-disease/pneumococcal/ (Accessed 2nd Oct 2024)
  7. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Diagnosis. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/diagnosis (Accessed 2nd Oct 2024)
  8. American Lung Association, What Causes Pneumonia? https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/what-causes-pneumonia (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  9. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Causes and Risk Factors. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/causes (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  10. Jain.S, et al. Community-Acquired Pneumonia Requiring Hospitalization among U.S. Adults N Engl J Med 2015;373:415-27.

 

Causes:

  1. Wyrwich. WK, et al. Observational longitudinal study of symptom burden and time for recovery from community-acquired pneumonia reported by older adults surveyed nationwide using the CAP Burden of Illness Questionnaire. Patient Related Outcome Measures 2015:6 215–223.
  2. World Health Organization, Pneumonia in children. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  3. Micek ST, Kollef KE, Reichley RM, Roubinian N, Kollef MH. Health care-associated pneumonia and community-acquired pneumonia: a single-center experience. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2007 Oct;51(10):3568-73. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00851-07. Epub 2007 Aug 6. PMID: 17682100; PMCID: PMC2043297.
  4. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Causes and Risk Factors. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/causes.  (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  5. Center For Disease Control, Vaccine Vaccine (Shot) for Pneumococcal Disease, https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/vaccines/index.html  (Accessed 8th July 2024)  
  6. American Lung Association, Get The Facts About Pneumococcal Pneumonia. https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/pneumococcal  (Accessed 2nd Oct 2024)
  7. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Symptoms. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/symptoms. (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  8. Jain.S, et al. Community-Acquired Pneumonia Requiring Hospitalization among U.S. Adults N Engl J Med 2015;373:415-27.
     

 

Symptoms:

  1. Wyrwich. WK, et al. Observational longitudinal study of symptom burden and time for recovery from community-acquired pneumonia reported by older adults surveyed nationwide using the CAP Burden of Illness Questionnaire. Patient Related Outcome Measures 2015:6 215–223.
  2. World Health Organization, Pneumonia in children. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  3. HealthHub, Pneumonia. https://www.healthhub.sg/a-z/diseases-and-conditions/topic_pneumonia (Accessed 8th July 2024)
  4. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Symptoms. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/symptoms. (Accessed 26th Aug 2022)
  5. Jain.S, et al. Community-Acquired Pneumonia Requiring Hospitalization among U.S. Adults N Engl J Med 2015;373:415-27.

 

Severity

  1. Wyrwich. WK, et al. Observational longitudinal study of symptom burden and time for recovery from community-acquired pneumonia reported by older adults surveyed nationwide using the CAP Burden of Illness Questionnaire. Patient Related Outcome Measures 2015:6 215–223.
  2. World Health Organization, Pneumonia in children. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  3. HealthHub, Pneumonia in Children: Symptoms and Treatment . https://www.healthhub.sg/a-z/diseases-and-conditions/pneumonia_child_kkh (Accessed 8th July 2024)
  4. American Lung Association, Understanding Pneumococcal Pneumonia, https://www.lung.org/getmedia/1e7bf05b-8057-4160-88dd-8e1e39f977f6/Pneumococcal-Fact-Sheet-2022-Final.pdf (Accessed 2nd Oct 2024)
  5. Kalaci, O., & Wensley, D. (2019). Burden of Hospitalized Patients with Pneumococcal Pneumonia.Michelin.L,et al. Mortality and costs of pneumococcal pneumonia in adults: a cross-sectional studyJ Bras Pneumol. 2019;45(6):e20180374
  6. Rodrigo Cavallazzi, Timothy Wiemken, Forest W. Arnold, Carlos M. Luna, Jose Bordon, Robert Kelley, Charles Feldman, James D. Chalmers, Antoni Torres, Julio Ramirez, Outcomes in patients with community-acquired pneumonia admitted to the intensive care unit, Respiratory Medicine, Volume 109, Issue 6,2015,Pages 743-750
  7. Grimwood K, Chang AB. Long-term effects of pneumonia in young children. Pneumonia (Nathan). 2015;6:101-114. Published 2015 Dec 1. doi:10.15172/pneu.2015.6/671
  8. American Lung Association, Pneumonia Symptoms and Diagnoses, https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/pneumonia/symptoms-and-diagnosis.   (Accessed 3rd Oct 2024)
  9. Pelton.SI, et al. Decline in Pneumococcal Disease Attenuated in Older Adults and Those With Comorbidities Following Universal Childhood PCV13 Immunization.CID 2019;68(11):1831–8
  10. Jain.S, et al. Community-Acquired Pneumonia Requiring Hospitalization among U.S. Adults N Engl J Med 2015;373:415-27.
     

 

Am I at risk?

  1. Pelton.SI, et al. Decline in Pneumococcal Disease Attenuated in Older Adults and Those With Comorbidities Following Universal Childhood PCV13 Immunization. CID 2019;68(11):1831–8
  2. World Health Organization, Pneumonia in children. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  3. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Causes and Risk Factors. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/causes.  (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  4. Brooks LRK, Mias GI. Streptococcus pneumoniae's Virulence and Host Immunity: Aging, Diagnostics, and Prevention. Front Immunol. 2018 Jun 22;9:1366. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.01366. PMID: 29988379; PMCID: PMC6023974.
  5. Thadchanamoorthy V, Dayasiri K. Review on Pneumococcal Infection in Children. Cureus. 2021;13(5):e14913. Published 2021 May 9. doi:10.7759/cureus.14913
  6. Shea KM, et al. Rates of Pneumococcal Disease in Adults With Chronic Medical Conditions.Open Forum Infect Dis. 2014 May 27;1(1):ofu024
  7. Baskaran et al. Effect of tobacco smoking on the risk of developing community acquired pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysisPLOS ONE 2019 14(7): e0220204
  8. Pelton SI, Weycker D, Farkouh RA, Strutton DR, Shea KM, Edelsberg J. Risk of pneumococcal disease in children with chronic medical conditions in the era of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Clin Infect Dis. 2014;59(5):615-623. doi:10.1093/cid/ciu348

 

What can I do?

  1. Communicable Diseases Agency (Singapore). Pneumococcal Disease. HealthHub. November 9, 2022. Accessed August 11, 2025. https://www.healthhub.sg/a-z/diseases-and-conditions/topic_pneumococcal_disease
  2. Ministry of Health (Singapore). (n.d.). Ministry of Health Singapore | Vaccinations. VaccineGovSG. Retrieved 11 August 2025, from https://vaccine.gov.sg/pneumococcal
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations. https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/hcp/vaccine-recommendations/index.html. (Accessed 17th September 2025)
  4. Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health (The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region). Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health - Pneumococcal Infection. Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health. February 23, 2024. Accessed August 12, 2025. https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/healthtopics/content/24/10584.html
  5. Grau I, Ardanuy C, Calatayud L, Schulze MH, Liñares J, Pallares R. Smoking and alcohol abuse are the most preventable risk factors for invasive pneumonia and other pneumococcal infections. Int J Infect Dis. 2014;25:59-64. doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2013.12.013

 

Did you know?

  1. Pelton.SI, et al. Decline in Pneumococcal Disease Attenuated in Older Adults and Those With Comorbidities Following Universal Childhood PCV13 Immunization. CID 2019;68(11):1831–8
  2. Shea KM, et al. Rates of Pneumococcal Disease in Adults With Chronic Medical Conditions. Open Forum Infect Dis. 2014 May 27;1(1):ofu024
  3. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Causes and Risk Factors. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/causes.  (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  4. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Diagnosis. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/diagnosis (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  5. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Prevention. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/prevention (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pneumococcal Disease: Causes and How It Spreads, https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/causes/  (Accessed 2nd Oct 2024)
  7. Wyrwich .WK, et al. Observational longitudinal study of symptom burden and time for recovery from community-acquired pneumonia reported by older adults surveyed nationwide using the CAP Burden of Illness Questionnaire. Patient Related Outcome Measures 2015:6 215–223
  8. American Lung Association, #DYK You Can Still Get Pneumonia in the Summer? https://www.lung.org/blog/you-can-still-get-pneumonia-in-summer (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Pneumococcal Vaccine Recommendations. https://www.cdc.gov/pneumococcal/hcp/vaccine-recommendations. (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  10. Jain.S, et al. Community-Acquired Pneumonia Requiring Hospitalization among U.S. Adults N Engl J Med 2015;373:415-27.
  11. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, COVID-19 and the Lungs. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/coronavirus/lungs (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  12. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Pneumonia: Symptoms https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/pneumonia/symptoms (Accessed 26th Aug 2022)
  13. World Health Organization, Pneumonia in children. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/pneumonia (Accessed 6th Oct 2024)
  14. Thadchanamoorthy V, Dayasiri K. Review on Pneumococcal Infection in Children. Cureus. 2021;13(5):e14913. Published 2021 May 9. doi:10.7759/cureus.14913
  15. HealthHub, Pneumococcal Disease. https://www.healthhub.sg/a-z/diseases-and-conditions/topic_pneumococcal_disease(Accessed 8th July 2024)
  16. Shea KM, et al. Rates of Pneumococcal Disease in Adults With Chronic Medical Conditions.Open Forum Infect Dis. 2014 May 27;1(1):ofu024