Pneumonia Symptoms and Causes

Pneumonia is an acute disease characterized by infections of the lung parenchyma. Pneumonia caused by viruses or bacteria, and attack the alveoli, or small air pockets in the lungs. The alveoli are filled with infected liquids, thereby reducing lung capacity and oxygen supply. Pneumonia is classified according to the cause of the infection. The most dominant pneumonia occurs is from the surrounding environment. Pneumonia associated with health care is the type that is obtained from health facilities, such as hospitals. The organism responsible for this type is more evil than the other types. 450 million patients each year have pneumonia and 150 million of them are children. The estimated 4 million people die every year because of this disease.In children, this pneumonia is the number one killer in the world. Although everyone can be exposed to pneumonia, extreme age is very young and very old is the age where this condition can be very severe. Pneumonia cases mostly appear in African regions and South Asia.

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Causes of pneumonia.

Some organisms can also infect a person's lungs through the bloodstream. After entering the respiratory tract, the organism attacks a person's lung parenchyma and alveoli. The body will then produce immunity to fight the organism, which can lead to the breakdown of cytokines, inflammation, damage to the combined lung and lung system. The bacterium that most often causes this condition is Streptococcus pneumoniae, followed by Haemophilus influenzae.