Pneumonia is a lung disease that can be caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria, and sometimes fungi. Pneumococcal pneumonia is an infection in the lungs caused by bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae. S. pneumoniae, also called pneumococcus, can infect the upper respiratory tracts of adults and children and can spread to the blood, lungs, middle ear, or nervous system.

The healthy human lung is normally free of disease-causing microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses. The body has immune system (a complex defense system) is designed to keep it that way. For example, hairs in the nose trap large particles carried along by the air we breathe in. The epiglottis is a kind of trapdoor in the larynx (windpipe; pronounced LAYR-inx) that keeps food and other swallowed substances from entering the lungs.

Pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs, usually caused by an infection of the lung tissue by one of many different microorganisms (germs). It is very common in the UK - it affects around 1 in every 100 people each year. Babies and people over 65 most commonly get pneumonia and most infections occur in the autumn or winter.

Walking pneumonia (also known as atypical pneumonia) is a medical condition in which patient suffering from walking pneumonia does not have to be bedridden or hospitalized. Unlike normal pneumonia, a walking pneumonia patient can move around even when he/she is suffering from the disease. Walking pneumonia is caused by an infection of organism mycoplasma pneumoniae (viruses, bacteria, chemical substances etc.).

Pneumonia is an acute or chronic disease marked by inflammation of one or both lungs. An inflammation of the lungs caused by viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms and sometimes by physical and chemical irritants. The air sacs in the lungs fill with pus and other liquid. Oxygen has trouble reaching your blood. If there is too little oxygen in your blood, your body cells can't work properly. Because of this and spreading infection through the body pneumonia can cause death.

Pneumonia is caused by the inhalation of infected microorganisms (tiny, single-celled living organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi or protozoa) spread through contact with an infected person. The microorganisms enter the body through the mouth, nose and eyes. If the body's resistance is down, the natural process of fighting off diseases is weakened and the microorganisms are free to spread into the lungs and the lungs' air sacs.

Most cases of pneumonia begin with a cold in the head or throat. The patient generally feels a chill, shivering fever, difficulty in breathing, and sharp pain in the chest. This may be followed by a cough with pinkish sputum, which may later become brownish. In young children, the disease may cause delirium and convulsions. The temperature may rise to 40.6 degree C and the pulse may go upto 150 beats per minute. A common complication of pneumonia is pleurisy.

Pneumonia is different in this way from acute bronchitis, which is another disease that can cause fever, cough, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Bronchitis is caused by inflammation in the air passages (called bronchi) leading to the alveoli, not the alveoli themselves. Sometimes it is very difficult, even for a doctor, to tell pneumonia and bronchitis apart. The symptoms and physical examination can be identical. Sometimes a chest x-ray is the only way to tell pneumonia and bronchitis apart.

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