Pneumonia is the most severe lung infection there is. It caused by bacterial or viral infection of the deep parts of the lung, called the alveoli. Pneumonia is becoming more common in the UK, with the number of patients having it increased by a third. Although many patients can be treated safely at home with antibiotics, about 30% of patients will have to be admitted to hospital for treatment and, of these, 10% will need to be treated on intensive care. Despite effective antibiotics, over 10% of patients with pneumonia admitted to hospital will die of the disease, accounting for an estimated 65,000 deaths per year in the UK.
Unfortunately the existing vaccine used in adults against the commonest cause of pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumoniae, is not effective. We desperately need more effective treatments and preventative strategies against this common and often fatal disease.
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