Volunteer for NIAID-funded clinical studies related to pneumococcal pneumonia on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Pneumonia is a lung disease. Pneumococcal pneumonia, a kind of pneumonia, can infect the upper respiratory tract and can spread to the blood, lungs, middle ear, or nervous system.
Pneumococcal pneumonia mainly causes illness in children younger than 5 years old and adults 65 years of age or older. The elderly are especially at risk of getting seriously ill and dying from this disease. In addition, people with certain medical conditions, such as chronic heart, lung, or liver diseases, or sickle cell anemia are also at increased risk for getting pneumococcal pneumonia. People with HIV/AIDS or people who have had organ transplants and are taking medicines that lower their resistance to infection are also at high risk of getting this disease.
Last Updated September 22, 2011