Invasive Pneumococcal Disease

Treatment

How is invasive pneumococcal disease diagnosed? What is the treatment?

Diagnosing invasive pneumococcal disease

Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is diagnosed based on symptoms and laboratory test results.

Only your health care provider can diagnose IPD. See your doctor right away if you think you have IPD since early treatment is most effective.

Your health care provider must report all cases of IPD to your local health authority.

Treating invasive pneumococcal disease

People with pneumococcal infections need to take antibiotics to get better.

The bacteria that cause IPD usually disappear from the nose and mouth 24 hours after antibiotic treatment has begun.

But in some cases, even with antibiotics, the bacteria can cause permanent damage. As antimicrobial resistance develops, cases of IPD are becoming harder to treat with antibiotics.

Preventing IPD with the pneumococcal vaccine is very important.