Pneumonia affects an average of 0,5-1 people in 100, so it is quite a common disease. It may be bacterial or viral, less often it is caused by fungi or protozoa. How to protect yourself from pneumonia? Why is it so dangerous, especially for children and the elderly? These and other questions are answered by dr hab. n. med. Agnieszka Mastelarz Migas.
- Pneumonia, regardless of whether it is bacterial or viral in origin, is manifested by coughing, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. Patients also complain of fever and general weakness
- Vaccinations are used to prevent pneumonia. Expert: Vaccinations are as safe as possible and in the current epidemic situation they should not be postponed
- You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page
Where does pneumonia come from?
Dr hab. n. med. Agnieszka Mastelarz Migas: This infectious disease of the lung tissue can be caused by bacteria or viruses, less often by fungi or protozoa. It may affect some part of the lung (lobar pneumonia, bacterial etiology) or be interstitial (most often viral or caused by atypical bacteria). In both cases, there is cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, and systemic symptoms such as fever and general weakness. The incidence of pneumonia in Poland is 0,5-1 people in 100, so it is a common disease.
What pathogen causes the most common pneumonia in children – bacteria or viruses?
The younger the child is (except for newborns), the more common the pathogen is viruses. In children under the age of 5, viruses and bacteria cause about 50 percent of infections. Pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae) is responsible for the majority of bacterial infections associated with pneumonia in children. Therefore, the most effective form of prophylaxis is pneumococcal vaccination, which has been included in the compulsory vaccination calendar since 2017, and therefore is free of charge.
Are vaccinations safe during a pandemic? Maybe it’s better to postpone them?
Vaccinations are as safe as possible and should not be postponed in the current epidemic situation. Experts from many countries, concentrated in institutions related to health care, recommend the timely implementation of the vaccination schedule in children, as well as vaccination of adults.
How is pneumonia treated?
In adults, pneumococci is also the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia. These bacteria cause 2/3 of community-acquired cases of this disease. Antibiotics are the drugs of choice in the bacterial etiology of the disease. They do not work against viruses, which is why we are afraid of viral lung infections, because firstly, they are more severe in adults than bacterial infections, and secondly, we do not have as wide a range of therapeutic options as for bacteria. There are relatively few antiviral drugs.
See also: Five diseases that can be confused with COVID-19
There are more antibiotics, but we have the phenomenon of antibiotic resistance …
Yes, the problem is serious and growing. Due to the irrational use of these drugs, as well as adding them to food and animal feed, a lot of multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria are circulating in our environment. We have a lot of antibiotics, but they are drugs from only a few groups, acting similarly within them. So, if there is an infection with a bacterial strain resistant to all antibiotics, which happens especially in hospital conditions, the prognosis is poor, because there is simply nothing to treat such a patient. The risk of death increases the older the person admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.
So how to protect seniors from this disease?
During the infection season, the golden rule and the simplest form of prevention is to avoid large groups of people. However, a specific form of protection against pneumonia are vaccinations – both against bacterial and viral pathogens, i.e. against pneumococci and influenza. It is also worth mentioning the vaccination against whooping cough.
Why is protection against whooping cough so important?
Because children are compulsorily vaccinated against it, but adults are not protected, because vaccine immunity does not persist throughout their lives. There is no single whooping cough vaccine, so a booster dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) combined vaccine is given. Its administration is recommended to every adult every 10 years.
Is whooping cough as serious as pneumococcal pneumonia?
No, but it is a very troublesome disease – the cough lasts a long time and is so strong that it can lead to vomiting, rib fractures, etc. Dehydrated people, the elderly, and those with chronic diseases are particularly vulnerable to pertussis infection. We are also concerned about pertussis infection of newborns and the youngest infants, i.e. children who have not yet been vaccinated against it. Therefore, vaccination against whooping cough is recommended for women between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy and for people who are surrounded by the youngest children – grandparents, caregivers and medical staff. It is about the so-called cocoon strategy.
The elderly are therefore recommended flu, pneumococcal and whooping cough vaccines. Are they really needed?
Definitely yes. You should get vaccinated against flu every year. When it comes to vaccination against pneumococci – first of all, we encourage people who are chronically ill, with diseases that affect immunity, such as diabetes, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases (COPD, asthma) and people over 50 years of age and older, because the risk is severe pneumonia increases with age. Younger people can also get vaccinated, there are no age restrictions.
Seniors are now at risk of not only pneumonia, but also the severe course of Covid-19, for which no vaccine is yet available. What should you do in this situation?
Get vaccinated against two of the most dangerous pathogens today – influenza and pneumococci. When a coronavirus is infected, we are concerned not only with the virus that causes interstitial pneumonia, but also with bacterial superinfections, among which pneumococcal infection is the most likely. In addition, of course, you have to limit social contacts, wear masks and disinfect your hands. It is also important to strengthen immunity through physical activity and care for the well-being of the body.
Dr hab. n. med. Agnieszka Mastalerz-Migas, family doctor, national consultant in the field of family medicine, president of the Board of the Polish Society of Family Medicine, head of the Chair and Department of Family Medicine at the Medical University of Wrocław
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