One in 10 people aged over 65 who are admitted to hospital with pneumonia will die from the illness.
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That's the stark warning as a new campaign for pneumonia vaccination for at-risk groups is launched in the face of already-rising infection rates ahead of the winter peak season.
Dr Brett Knight, head of respiratory and general medicine at Ballarat Health Service, said pneumonia was a very common cause of hospitalisation and among the elderly and frail, the death rate was higher than what would normally be expected.
Pneumococcal pneumonia often occurs as a secondary bacterial infection to influenza and lung infections.
"I work at both the Base Hospital and St John's and we've definitely seen a recent increase in the frequency of admission of patients with pneumonia and a good proportion of them have influenza-related pneumonia," he said.
"And it occurs not only in older frail patients, but we are seeing people in their 40s and 50s with pneumonia and we are definitely seeing an increase in current influenza cases."
The Ballarat experience is mirroring that of health services across Australia, prompting the Lung Foundation Australia to launch a new campaign for at-risk adults to vaccinate against pneumococcal pneumonia.
In Victoria alone there have been 11,163 confirmed cases of influenza so far this year, compared to 2197 to the same time last year.
Infectious diseases expert Professor Robert Booy said most people carried the pneumococcal pneumonia-causing bacteria in their throat, which could be complicated by pneumonia from a weakened immune system or viral infection.
"All it takes is a simple lung or flu infection, particularly in those at-risk (people aged over 65 and those with medical and lifestyle risk factors), to wake the 'sleeping dragon' and develop into a life-threatening case of pneumonia," Prof Booy said.
"Flu often develops into pneumonia. Although older Australians are increasingly having an annual flu shot, only one-in-two are vaccinating against pneumococcal pneumonia, leaving them vulnerable to the killer lung infection."
There are more than 77,800 pneumonia hospitalisations in Australia each year
Dr Knight urged people to have the flu vaccination, and to talk to their GP about a the pneumococcal vaccine, which can be given at the same time.
"The government subsidises the flu vaccine for people over 65 and for people under five years, but there s a big middle ground of people whom the vaccine is an effective preventative measure that starts working within days of administration, reaches peak effect very quickly and the duration of the preventative effects lasts many months.
"When you look at the costs for the broader community of influenza, it's not just the health care system because people require hospitalisation and some people die of flu and pneumonia, but the cost in terms of absenteeism from school and work is much greater."
Dr Knight said there had been recent developments in the pneumococcal vaccine which made it longer lasting.
The adult pneumococcal vaccine protects against 23 variations bacteria responsible for about 85 per cent of adult pneumococcal infections in Australia.
Free pneumococcal vaccines are available to those in high risk groups including the over 65s, infants, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, those with impaired immunity, chronic tobacco smokers and people with chronic medical illnesses, such as heart, lung, kidney and liver disease, and diabetes.
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