Pneumonia affects many different types of people from all walks of life around the world. It ranks as the third most frequent cause of death among children under the age of 5 worldwide. Rates of infection are three times higher in African Americans than in whites and are 5 to 10 times higher in Native American adults. Two to three million cases of pneumonia are diagnosed each year resulting in 40,000 to 70,000 deaths. In 1936, pneumonia was the number one cause of death in the U.S. Since then, better treatments and medications have been developed that have lowered the mortality rates of pneumonia victims.
Bacterial pneumonia can be a very serious illness in which the lungs become infected or inflamed. Normally, the air sacs in a person's lungs fill with air, but in the case of pneumonia, the air sacs become filled with pus or other liquid. When air sacs in the lungs become filled with something other than air, it is called consolidation. Because the lung's air sacs are not able to fill with air, a pneumonia patient has difficulty breathing and oxygen cannot reach the blood stream as efficiently. .
Bacterial pneumonia affects mostly two age groups: the young and the elderly. Bacterial pneumonia among young children is most common in children younger than age 2. Specifically, bacterial pneumonia is the leading cause of severe pneumonia worldwide in children younger than five years old. Bacterial pneumonia is responsible for about 1 million deaths of children each year.
Bacterial pneumonia in elderly is most common among adults aged 65 years or older. It can either be acquired from the community or in a long term care setting. Adults living with: AIDS/HIV, heart, lung, or liver disease, sickle cell anemia, organ transplants, or people who are taking medication that affects their immune system, are all susceptible at an increased risk for acquiring pneumonia. Pneumonia can also follow a bout of influenza.
