Pneumococci spp.
From DrugPedia: A Wikipedia for Drug discovery
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It is a genus of spherical, Gram-positive bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes. The genus contains many species, most of which are pathogens, or disease causing organisms. | It is a genus of spherical, Gram-positive bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes. The genus contains many species, most of which are pathogens, or disease causing organisms. | ||
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! Genus || Pneumococcus | ! Genus || Pneumococcus | ||
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Revision as of 07:21, 9 July 2010
Pneumococci spp.
It is a genus of spherical, Gram-positive bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes. The genus contains many species, most of which are pathogens, or disease causing organisms.
| Kingdom | Bacteria |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Firmicutes |
| Class | Bacilli |
| Order | Lactobacillales |
| Family | Streptococcaceae |
| Genus | Pneumococcus |
Contents |
Pathogenic Activity
It causes illness in children younger than 2 years old and adults 65 years of age or older. Also people with certain medical conditions such as chronic heart, lung, or liver diseases or sickle cell anemia are also at increased risk for getting pneumococcal pneumonia. People with HIV infection, AIDS, or people who have had organ transplants and are taking medicines that lower their resistance to infection are also at high risk of getting this disease.
Transmission
Pneumococcus is spread through breathing the bacteria into the lungs, bypassing normal immune system defenses.
Virulence
Until 2000, S. pneumoniae infections caused 100,000-135,000 hospitalizations for pneumonia, 6 million cases of otitis media, and 60,000 cases of invasive disease, including 3300 cases of meningitis. Incidence of sterile-site infections showed geographic variation from 21 to 33 cases per 100,000 population. Disease figures are now changing due to conjugate vaccine introduction.; in 2002, the rate of invasive disease was 13 cases per 100,000 in the United States.
