Pneumococcal disease is an infectious disease that occurs in people with weakened immune systems. The disease is most likely to strike in the winter and spring, but there are cases year round. The most common symptoms are chills, fever, chest pain, shortness of breath, and a severe cough.
Some people vomit or have convulsions.
Which symptoms people get and how bad they are varies with each person. The germs that cause the disease live in the nose and mouth of many healthy adults, where they usually do not cause any problems. If a person's immune system is weakened, however, these germs can spread into the body and cause disease. Anyone can get pneumococcal disease. Those at highest risk are people over 65 years old, people of any age who have chronic health problems, and people who have an infection that can weaken their immune system.