Pneumonia is a common illness that affects millions of people each year in the United States. In the Elderly, the signs of pneumonia may come on much more slowly. Some people are hospitalized with pneumonia, especially those patients at high risk. Most people with pneumonia recover, but about 5% will succumb to the condition.
Pneumonia from any cause can occur at any age, but people in certain age groups are at higher risk for certain types of pneumonia. Varicella pneumonia is almost always serious enough to need treatment withacyclovir (Zovirax). Once organisms enter the lungs, they usually settle in the air sacs and passages of the lung where they rapidly grow in number. Health care experts have consistently identified pneumococcus as the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia in Gambia.