How Does Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia Spread?
• Mechanical respirators (breathing machines): These machines help patients breathe when they aren’t able to breathe on their own. A person is usually connected to a breathing machine by a tube that carries air into the lungs. Having this tube increases the risk of pneumonia. • Aspiration: Germs from the mouth or throat can cause pneumonia when they enter the airways of the lungs. This is most likely to happen if a person is not fully conscious, must lie flat, or can’t swallow or cough up mucus in the throat. • Hand-to-hand contact: The germs that cause pneumonia can spread from patient to patient on the hands of healthcare workers.
