Vaccine for pneumonia

Pneumonia is a serious illness which involves an inflammation of the lungs, caused by the Streptococcus pneumonia bacterium. Also known as pneumococcus, this bacterium is also responsible for other medical conditions such as acute sinusitis, cellulitis, brain abscess, endocarditis, peritonitis, meningitis, sepsis and other more.

The Pneumococcal vaccine is the vaccine used against Streptococcus pneumonia, making it a very important prevention method and cure for a large number of people around the globe. The vaccine has two forms that cater to different people of a particular age group or depending on the medical condition of the patient. There is the conjugate vaccine and the Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine.

The conjugate is recommended mostly for children that are over two months and under 2 years. It is administered at 2 months, then at 4, 6, 12 and 14. The other version of the vaccine is used on elderly patients mostly, those who have a higher chance of contracting the virus and suffering complications. The protection rate of the second vaccine is up to 85%, which means that patients under the age of 55 get at least 5 years coverage because of it.

It is not recommended to have two pneumococcal vaccines in a lifetime, because it is very aggressive and in some cases it could cause complications instead of curing the original virus symptoms or offering the immune system the means to fight it. This can however be ignored in some special cases where repeated vaccination is advised.

An immunization program is conceived in the US and the UK in order to tend to the majority of the population an. Vaccinations in South Africa however are a bit different because the virus is tougher there, which males it resistant to drugs. There is ongoing research being done on the vaccine for the virus in order to find a worldwide accepted solution.