Pneumococcal Pneumonia

Pneumococcal Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection affecting the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi. Each year in the UK, 8 in every 1000 adults develop pneumonia (around 220,000 people per year) and approximately 29,000 people die.

Symptoms

Common symptoms are a persistent cough, fever, breathlessness, feeling generally unwell, no appetite, sweating/shivering and chest pains which worsen when breathing or coughing.

How do you catch Pneumococcal Pneumonia?
Pneumococcal Pneumonia is most commonly transmitted by air-borne droplets from a cough or sneeze, but can also be spread through person to person contact.

Incubation period
This depends on the cause, but tends to be 1-7 days approx.

Diagnosis
The condition is diagnosed based on clinical symptoms, listening to the chest, X-Rays, and blood tests.

Prevention
Good standards of hygiene can reduce the chance of spreading the disease. These include covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, preferably with a tissue which can then be disposed of, and regular hand-washing. Two licensed pneumococcal vaccines are currently available.

Treatment
Pneumococcal Pneumonia is treated with antibiotics, rest, and an increased fluid intake. Hospitalisation is normally required for more serious cases.

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Vaccination options

A vaccine is available.

Protection duration: Healthy adults are unlikely to need a booster

How is it given: 1 injection (adults)

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Did you know?

  • The only European countries with a higher death rate from pneumonia than the UK are Slovakia and Romania.
  • Although anyone can catch pneumonia, those at particular risk include the very young, the elderly, people who smoke, those with chronic health conditions and those whose immune systems have been weakened by illness or treatment.
  • More serious complications of pneumonia include pleurisy (where the lining between the lungs and ribcage become inflamed) and, rarely, lung abscesses or septicaemia (blood poisoning).

Clinical Oversight By:

Professor David Ross

Professor David Ross OStJ

Medical Director, MASTA

PhD MSc MBBS MRCGP FRCPCH FFPH FFTM RCPS(Glasg.) FRCP(Glasg.)

GMC No. 3115417

Professor David Ross OStJ is the Medical Director of MASTA and has been associated with MASTA since 2005. He served 41 years in the Army, including over 10 years as senior advisor on public health to the UK Surgeon General. In 2012 he was appointed the Parkes Professor of Preventive Medicine, in 2014 an Honorary Queen’s Physician and in 2023 an Officer in the Order of St John.

Professor David Ross

Professor David Ross OStJ

Medical Director, MASTA

PhD MSc MBBS MRCGP FRCPCH FFPH FFTM RCPS(Glasg.) FRCP(Glasg.)

GMC No. 3115417

Professor David Ross is the Medical Director at MASTA and has been associated with the company since 2005. He was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1983 and graduated in medicine from St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London in 1986. In 2012 he was appointed the Parkes Professor of Preventive Medicine, in 2014 an Honorary Queen’s Physician and in 2023 an Officer in the Order of St John. He was the senior advisor on public health from 2012–2023 to the UK Surgeon General. He retired from the Army in October 2024, after 41 years active service.

Professor David Ross was Director of Education, Honorary Secretary, and Vice Dean before becoming Dean of the Faculty of Travel Medicine, Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons (Glasgow) in October 2024. Recent travel medicine research interests have included malaria prevention and tuberculosis screening. He was Chief Examiner of the Diploma of Medicine in Conflict & Catastrophes at the Society of Apothecaries until 2024, is Chair of the Final UK MFPH and an Examiner at the UK Faculty of Public Health.

The last few years of his military working life were dominated by supporting the international and national public health response to COVID-19, where he managed many large COVID outbreaks both overseas and in the UK. David also led research into risk factors for mental ill health in the UK Army and for this was awarded a PhD by the University of Glasgow in 2024.