Google analytical tool used to gauge vaccine effectiveness

Yale: Using a statistical method initially developed by Google, a Yale School of Public Health-led research team has devised a novel way to better analyze the impact of vaccines. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Pneumococcus, a bacterial pathogen, is one of the most significant causes of pneumonia around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pneumonia is the leading cause of death globally in children under the age of 5. Vaccines that prevent pneumococcal infection can decrease pneumonia rates, but quantifying the impact of the vaccine remains challenging.

Does vitamin D cut lung infection risk in older adults?

NHS: "Why you should take vitamin D as you get older: High doses reduce the risk of respiratory illnesses by 40%," the Mail Online reports. Researchers in Colorado investigated whether a high dose of vitamin D in older adults living in long term care facilities could reduce their risk of acute respiratory (lung) infections, such as pneumonia.

New breath test for pneumonia

Manchester: Researchers from The University of Manchester are part of a team that has identified an important new approach to diagnose infections in critically ill patients rapidly and accurately. A study by colleagues in Salford and Manchester found that chemically analysing breath specimens from patients in intensive care can reveal bacterial infection in the lower respiratory tract of ventilated patients at risk of developing pneumonia.

study highlights burden of pneumonia hospitalizations on U.S. children

CDC. US: Children younger than 5 years of age accounted for 70 percent of pneumonia hospitalizations among children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a study published today. Pneumonia remains a leading cause of hospitalization among children in the United States. The two-and-a-half-year study published in the New England Journal of Medicine by CDC researchers and three U.S. children’s medical centers estimated the burden of community-acquired pneumonia hospitalizations among U.S.

Community Acquired Pneumonia

Author: Scott A. Flanders University of Michigan 2008-08-18

Introduction

Pneumonia generally refers to an infection of the lung tissue, or lung parenchyma (the functional parts of the lung), and is considered a type of upper respiratory infection. The term “pneumonia” is also used to describe non-infectious inflammatory conditions of the lung that often have no known origin, but this knol will focus solely on community acquired pneumonia, which has identifiable, infectious origins. Please note as well, that this knol will NOT cover conditions such as rhinitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, tracheitis, and bronchitis, which are all upper respiratory infections that develop higher in the respiratory tree and are generally considered less severe than pneumonia.