Health Indicator Report of Immunizations - Pneumonia, adults

Pneumococcal disease is caused by bacteria that can spread from person to person through close contact. It can cause ear infections, and it can also lead to more serious infections of the lungs (pneumonia), blood (bacteremia), and covering of the brain and spinal cord (meningitis). Anyone can get pneumococcal disease, but children under two years of age and adults aged 65 years and older, people with certain medical conditions, and cigarette smokers are at the highest risk. Before there was a vaccine, the United States saw: *more than 700 cases of meningitis *about 13,000 blood infections *about 5 million ear infections *about 200 deaths [[br]] Treatment of pneumococcal infections with penicillin and other drugs is not as effective as it used to be, because some strains of pneumococcal are resistant to these drugs. This makes prevention of the disease, through vaccine even more important^1^. [[br]] [[br]] ====Pneumococcal Vaccines==== There are two pneumococcal vaccines that are licensed for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): * pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13 or Prevnar 13) * pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23 or Pneumovax23)[[br]] [[br]] The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) is recommended for: *All children younger than 2 years old *People 2 years or older with certain medical conditions *Adults 65 years or older also can discuss and decide, with their doctor, to get PCV13. [[br]] The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) is recommended for: * All adults 65 years or older * People 2 through 64 years old with certain medical conditions * Adults 19 through 64 years old who smoke cigarettes [[br]] Most people need only one dose of PPSV23. A second dose of PPSV23, and another type of pneumococcal vaccine called PCV13, are recommended for certain high-risk groups. Your health care provider can give you more information. People 65 years or older should get a dose of PPSV23 even if they have already gotten one or more doses of the vaccine before they turned 65^2^. A 2006 study published in the medical journal Clinical Infectious Diseases found that hospital patients who received the pneumococcal vaccine were 40 to 70 percent less likely to die than unvaccinated patients. In the study, vaccinated patients had a lower risk of respiratory failure, kidney failure, heart attack, and other complications. Vaccinated patients in the study also spent an average of two fewer days in the hospital^3^.[[br]] [[br]] ---- 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Pneumococcal Conjugate (PCV13) VIS. Retrieved from: [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/pcv13.html] [[br]] 2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ''Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine (PPSV23): What You Need to Know'' Retrieved from: [https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/vis-statements/ppv.html][[br]] 3. Vila-Crcoles, et al. Protective Effects of the 23-Valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine in the Elderly Population: The EVAN-65 Study. ''Clinical Infectious Diseases''. Retrieved from: [http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/7/860.full]