Some patients are resistant to antibiotics

It is said that antibiotic-resistant diseases were less common in both vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. This means that some kind of community protection has been achieved. According to the Austrian Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (ÖVIH), there were 4.91 million deaths linked to antibiotic resistance worldwide in 2019.

“Antibiotic resistance now also occurs in Austria (…). The number of invasive pneumococcal diseases in general – that is, those in which the pneumococci have invaded the blood or tissue of certain organs – is almost at the level before the Covid-19 pandemic,” it said in a press release.

Bacterial secondary infection
Viral diseases are often the starting point for a secondary bacterial infection. A high vaccination rate against influenza and other viruses would prevent many additional and therefore particularly dangerous bacterial infections and ensure lower antibiotic consumption, according to the ÖVIH.

The National Vaccination Plan recommends pneumococcal vaccination mainly for people over 60 and people with certain previous diseases. “In Austria, vaccination rates in adults are usually too low, despite the clear data,” says ÖVIH President Renée Gallo-Daniel. But therapies and other preventive measures (e.g. hygiene measures) would also be necessary.

Just like a flu infection, pneumococci are transmitted through droplet infections, for example when coughing or sneezing. Possible symptoms include fever and a general feeling of illness. Most pneumococcal infections are located in the lungs, middle ear or sinuses and cause symptoms there. Risk factors for a serious course are diabetes, smoking, chronic lung disease and cancer.