ABOUT INVASIVE PNEUMOCOCCAL DISEASE
What is invasive pneumococcal disease?
You may have heard about pneumonia, but have you heard of invasive pneumococcal disease?
Pneumococcal disease is a name for any infection caused by a bacteria called pneumococcus, the same bacteria that can cause pneumococcal pneumonia.
Pneumococcal bacteria can be passed from one person to another through close contact or droplets of saliva or mucus and can “invade” areas of the body that are normally free of germs.
Pneumococcal bacteria can cause many types of illnesses, such as infections in:
your lungs (called pneumonia)
the area around your brain and spinal cord (called meningitis)
your blood (called bacteremia)
When pneumococcal bacteria cause an infection in your brain or blood, these types of infections are called invasive pneumococcal disease. This can lead to brain damage, blood stream infections or death.
Did you know?
Invasive pneumococcal disease is a serious disease that can cause severe illness and lead to long-term effects, hospitalization and even death.
In an Ontario study (2011-2019) of people with invasive pneumococcal disease:*
~1 in 9 cases among adults 50–64 resulted in death out of 2,957 cases reported
~1 in 6 cases among adults 65+ resulted in death out of 4,595 cases reported
CAPVAXIVE® will not protect against complications such as hospitalization or death, but it may help protect those at risk against invasive pneumococcal disease.
Even though IPD is more common in the winter and spring, you can be at risk all year round, so it’s important to protect yourself any time of the year
What are the symptoms of invasive pneumococcal disease?
Symptoms depend on the part of the body that is infected and usually appear 1 to 3 days after you become infected.
Common symptoms can include:
- difficulty breathing
- stiff neck
- headache
- cough
- fever and chills
- confusion
- sensitivity to lights
- ear pain
- chest pain
- sore throat
If you start to experience symptoms, talk to your healthcare professional right away.
Who is at risk of invasive pneumococcal disease?
Anyone can get invasive pneumococcal disease, but older adults are at an increased risk because the immune system naturally weakens with age.
Your risk of serious pneumococcal infection goes up after age 50 and rises further after age 65.
Studies show that adults 18+ were at an increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease if they:†
have diabetes 
more likely‡
smoke 
more likely‡
have chronic
heart disease 
more likely‡
have chronic
respiratory disease 
more likely‡
Invasive pneumococcal disease risk is also increased for individuals who:
- have a chronic organ disease (e.g., kidney, liver, lung or heart disease)
- have certain other chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes or asthma)
- have a weakened immune system or are immunosuppressed
- have a cochlear implant (an electronic device that helps people with hearing loss hear sounds)
- have had their spleen removed, were born without one, or have one that does not work well
Risk of invasive pneumococcal disease can also be influenced by lifestyle or environmental factors such as homelessness or exposure to cigarette smoke.
Want to know your risk of invasive pneumococcal disease?
Take this quiz to see if you’re at a higher risk.
* Average based on invasive pneumococcal disease data for adults, by age group, in Ontario from 2011 to 2019.
† Using information from the PubMed database published 2004–November 2014.
‡ Comparison of the chances of developing invasive pneumococcal disease for people with a certain risk factor vs. those without.