Pneumococcal disease
Pneumococcal disease is an acute infection caused by the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
There are more than 90 different types of the bacteria.
How it spreads
Many healthy people carry the bacteria in their nose and throat, especially young children.
The bacteria can spread to others by direct oral contact such as:
- kissing
- contact with articles soiled with infected mouth or nose secretions.
Occasionally, the bacteria will cause an infection by invading the body or blood stream.
It is uncommon to get infected from a person who is sick with pneumococcal disease.
Who is at risk
Anyone can get pneumococcal disease, but some groups have a higher risk of getting sick including:
- young children
- the elderly
- any person with a weakened immune system or a chronic illness
- people who smoke.
Having a respiratory viral infection such as influenza may also increase the risk of being infected.
Symptoms
The time between being infected with the bacteria and becoming sick is uncertain but may be as short as one to 3 days.
The symptoms vary depending on which part of the body is affected but usually a fever will be present.
It can cause a variety of severe illnesses including:
- lung infection (pneumonia), which presents as:
- shortness of breath
- cough
- fever
- lack of energy
- sometimes chest pain
- infection around the brain (meningitis), which presents as:
- a headache
- stiff neck
- nausea
- vomiting
- drowsiness
- blood poisoning (septicaemia).
Pneumonia is the most common in the Northern Territory (NT).
The bacteria can also cause less severe but troubling illness such as sinus and ear infections.
Treatment
Pneumococcal disease is treated with antibiotics under a doctor's care.
Prevention
Smoking and smoke exposure increase the risk of pneumococcal disease and should be avoided.
Yearly influenza vaccination will reduce the risk of pneumococcal disease as it can be a complication that follows influenza.
There are conjugate and polysaccharide pneumococcal vaccines, each of which is used:
- in slightly different ways
- to protect against a different number of the pneumococcal bacteria.
Conjugate vaccine (Prevenar 13®)
All children are offered this vaccine free at 6 weeks, and at 4 and 12 months of age.
An extra free dose is also given at 6 months for children:
- with an increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) due to a medical condition
- who are Aboriginal.
Children over five years old and adults with an highest increased risk of IPD are also recommended to receive the vaccine.
Polysaccharide vaccine (Pneumovax 23®)
In the NT, the following people are eligible to receive a free Pneumovax 23® vaccine:
- adults aged 70 years and over
- all Aboriginal people aged 15 years and over.
The vaccine is also recommended for people from the age of 4 with conditions associated with an increased risk of IPD.
Side effects of the vaccine
Serious side effects are rare. Up to 10% of children may have some redness at the injection site or develop a mild fever.
In adults, local redness and soreness at the injection site for the first couple of days is common.
To find out more about the pneumococcal vaccination recommendations, talk to your doctor or go to the Australian Government's Department of Health website.
Information for health professionals
To find out more, go to the NT Health website.
Contact
For more information, contact your nearest Centre for Disease Control on the NT Health website.