[팜뉴스=김민건 기자] It was found that there were not many cases of pneumonia following respiratory viral infection.
On the 23rd, Pfizer Korea (CEO Dongwook Oh) announced on the 28th that it had held the ‘2022 Vxpert, Vaccine + Expert webinar’ to inform domestic medical staff about the importance of pneumococcal vaccination for adults.
This webinar aims to compare the demographic or clinical characteristics and serotype distribution of pneumococcal pneumonia patients and primary pneumococcal pneumonia patients after viral infection for 5 years (2007-2011) among 919 patients with pneumococcal pneumonia in a domestic university hospital. For this purpose, a case-control analysis study was introduced.
According to the study, one in three patients with pneumococcal pneumonia was confirmed to have pneumococcal pneumonia after infection with respiratory viruses such as adeno, rhino, para influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). In particular, the incidence of pneumococcal disease increases in April-May, and pneumococcal infection was a risk factor for the high prevalence of respiratory viral infections.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is known to be the most common causative agent of bacterial community-acquired pneumonia among adults in Korea. Not just pneumonia. It can cause invasive diseases such as bacteremia and meningitis. Pfizer Korea explained, “Mingitis is a disease that is highly likely to have neurological sequelae even if it survives.
According to a study related to COVID-19 and pneumococcal disease, the fatality rate increased by about 7.8 times (95% CI, 3.8–15.8) when both invasive pneumococcal disease and Corona 19 virus were infected, compared to when only invasive pneumococcal disease was infected.
Ma Sang-hyeok, head of the Infectious Diseases Countermeasure Committee of the Gyeongsangnam-do Medical Association, said, “Pneumococcal pneumonia may accompany respiratory virus infection. Preemptive pneumococcal vaccination is necessary because the incidence and fatality rate of pneumococcal disease increases from the age of 50.”