About pneumococcal disease
Pneumococcal disease is a bacterial infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, sometimes known as pneumococcus. Most people carry pneumococcus in their nose and throat, where the bacteria do not cause any symptoms. However, sometimes the bacteria grow and spread to other parts of the body and that’s when you become sick.
Case definitions
Prevention
Vaccination is the best protection against pneumococcal disease. If you're eligible, you can get pneumococcal vaccines for free under the National Immunisation Program. See more information about when to get vaccinated.
Vaccination
Find out more about getting vaccinated against pneumococcal disease.
Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment
For information about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment, see healthdirect's pneumococcal disease page.
Surveillance and reporting
Pneumococcal disease is a nationally notifiable disease.
We monitor cases through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) and report data in our pneumococcal disease public dataset.
For more on pneumococcal disease in Australia, you can search Communicable Diseases Intelligence.