Facts
Due to its extensive contact and incorporation into our every day lives, S. pneumoniae is one of the most well documented bacterium known to man. With this documentation comes a variety of statistics and interesting, observable patterns that are exhibited by the bacteria. Here are a few!
Fun Facts
- Though it is common for S. pneumoniae to be present in the upper respiratory tracts of most people it is still unknown as to why this bacteria causes invasive respiratory diseases in some people and not others.
- Effective antibiotics for S. pneumonia are still semi abundant. However the list of effective drugs grows smaller and smaller as time passes due to the increasing drug resistance of the bacteria. The increase in resistance can be attributed to the overuse and/or misuse of antibiotics by people infected by the bacteria.
- For more in-depth Fun Facts click Here!
What's it like to be a S. pneumoniae? Watch below!
Morbid Facts
- S. pneumoniae cases a variety of diseases that are both invasive and non-invasive in humans. This list of diseases includes, but is not limited to, meningitis, pneumonia, bacteremia, and AOM (infection of the inner ear).
- The CDC reports that there are roughly 4 million cases of S. pneumoniae infection reported each year. Of the 4 million reported cases, over 22,000 die from a disease caused by S. pneumoniae. This gives S. pneumoniae a mortality rate between 10%--25% for people that are hospitalized by a disease.
- With roughly 1 million people hospitalized by pneumonia every year, it is the third leading cause of hospitalization in the United States. Birth and Heart disease are first and second respectively.