Who is at Risk of Getting a Pneumococcal Infection?
Every year, about 1 in every 5,000 people will get a serious infection due to this bacterium. People who have no spleen or are chronically ill with lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, cirrhosis, kidney failure, AIDS/HIV and other diseases that decrease ability to fight infections are at an increased risk of illness due to Streptococcus pneumoniae. People taking drugs/treatment such as steroids, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, people who have had a recent organ transplant and elderly people who have had an episode of influenza also have a greater chance of developing an infection caused by the bacterium.
