It’s World Pneumonia Day, and while pneumonia remains the leading infectious cause of childhood mortality, important strides have been made to prevent pneumonia, treat pneumonia, and raise awareness about pneumonia.

Pneumonia is a catch-all clinical term that can be caused by a variety of pathogens and is exacerbated by several environmental factors (air pollution, presence of tobacco smoke in the home, presence of open cooking fires in the home) as well as comorbid conditions (e.g. malnutrition, premature birth). Pneumonia occurs when the alveoli (small sacs in the lungs) are filled with fluid as a result of infection or inflammation. The fluid makes it difficult for you to get enough oxygen, which can be life-threatening. Generally, pneumonia presents with cough, shortness of breath, fever, and fatigue. In older people, symptoms like confusion or lower-than-usual body temperature may occur.

Preventing pneumonia is possible! Numerous preventative products, like vaccines and antibody therapies are available, which target specific pathogens, like Streptococcus pneumoniae or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).  New pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have been approved for use in many countries, and access to these life-saving products is improving. Since they became available at the beginning of the century, pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have already saved millions of lives worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries, pneumonia deaths have been cut almost in half over the past decade, which is a major advance, and a sign that there is still more work to be done.

New products to prevent RSV infections (vaccines and long-acting antibody therapies) are ready for use, with programs aiming to prevent severe infections in infants and older adults, the two groups most severely affected by this virus. Infants can be directly immunized with an antibody therapy, or protected through maternal vaccination programs. Older adults can be vaccinated and protect themselves from RSV infections, which are an extremely common cause of hospitalization in this age group. There are numerous new products available, and RSV is still not familiar to many people outside of the medical community. Looking for reliable information about vaccines and infectious diseases online can be fraught, so having a trusted source of reliable RSV information is a valuable resource. To help patients, families, providers, and researchers, the Respiratory Syncytial Virus Foundation, ReSViNET, has developed an accessible, free, and factual tool- the ReSViNET AI Chatbot (https://resvinet.org/patient-network/chatbot/), available online through a browser or through WhatsApp. The Chatbot speaks numerous languages and provides factual, evidence-based data about RSV infections and prevention products. Trained specifically with oversight from clinicians and researchers, the ResViNET Chatbot’s information is designed to be more detailed and more accurate than the run-of-the-mill AI interfaces. Helping concerned family members, patients, and community members understand more about RSV and how they can avoid it will provide a bolster of support for healthcare professionals as we head into the busy season here in the Northern Hemisphere.

Bringing awareness to the public about pneumonia can be a challenge. Despite how common and how severe pneumonia can be, research, treatment, and prevention policies often lag, even when compared with other infectious diseases. The Connected Health Alliance, ECHAlliance, which has member organizations in 78 countries is shining a literal light on pneumonia today: the PneumoLight campaign will illuminate over 200 monuments worldwide with blue lights. Check out this year’s campaign here (https://pneumolightconference.com/lighting-up-the-world/) to see if a monument near you will be blue tonight!

Learning more about common causes of pneumonia and raising awareness of the public health importance of pneumonia can help keep pneumonia on people’s minds. Hopefully this will drive uptake in prevention programs and serve as motivation to continue pushing for improvements to access to treatment and prevention across the world.

About the Researcher

Stephanie Perniciaro is an Associate Research Scientist in Epidemiology (Microbial Diseases) at the Yale School of Public Health. She begun her career in a sewage treatment facility, analysing wastewater, sludge, and solids in the laboratory and catching fish and aqueous invertebrates on the bioinventory team. Now, in the Yale School of Public Health, Stephanie's overarching research goal is to optimise vaccine impact for respiratory disease, by developing future vaccine designs, determine vaccine selection for particular populations, optimise vaccine schedules,  improve vaccine uptake and investigate the current and potential effects of using vaccines.