January 17, 2017

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Community-acquired pneumonia can spread year-round

A black and white X-ray picture showing a triangular white area on the left side. A circle highlights the area. Credit: James Heilman, MD./Wikipedia
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A black and white X-ray picture showing a triangular white area on the left side. A circle highlights the area. Credit: James Heilman, MD./Wikipedia

New research indicates that community-acquired pneumonia should not be regarded as a seasonal disease, as it occurs throughout all seasons; however, the pathogens that cause the condition are clearly subject to seasonal variations.

In the observational study carried out in the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain, community-acquired pneumonia occurred more frequently in the winter than in other individual seasons, but two-thirds of cases occurred in spring, autumn, and summer combined.

"To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive analysis of of aetiology, based on prospectively collected data over 12 years of a large population with community-acquired pneumonia," wrote the authors of the Respirology study.

More information: Catia Cilloniz et al. Seasonality of pathogens causing community-acquired pneumonia, Respirology (2017). DOI: 10.1111/resp.12978

Journal information: Respirology

Provided by Wiley

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