It has no connection with the coronavirus, but it too spreads quickly. The appearance of pneumococcus last week in the Grand Maritime Port of Marseille (GPMM) (Bouches-du-Rhône) triggered a major vaccination campaign, affecting 4,000 local employees.
Thirteen people working on a shipyard presented "pneumococcal pneumonia" after the launch of an alert Thursday. They all worked on the Norwegian Cruise Line, a giant of the dry seas in the "form 10", the largest in the Mediterranean, where its hull is maintained and its interior modernized. The details of this bacteria in five questions.
What is pneumococcus?
Pneumococcus is a bacteria naturally present in the nose and throat. Children and the elderly tend to have more.
This bacteria most often triggers pneumonia when it affects the lungs. In children, it can cause ear infections when it affects the middle ear. It can also cause sinusitis (by touching the sinuses), meningitis (by touching the envelopes of the brain) or even bacteremia (by touching the blood), details Public Health France. The severity of the infection depends on the sensitivity of the patients.
Of the 400 to 600,000 pneumonias diagnosed in France, between 30 and 50% are due to this bacterium, according to data posted online by the pharmaceutical laboratory Pfizer.
What are the symptoms of these infections?
Pneumonia manifests as a "sudden onset with chest pain often described" as a stab that the patient can date to the minute, "says Pfizer. “It follows a high fever, chills, deterioration of the general state, a feeling of malaise. An initial dry cough, then purulent or rusty sputum ”, continues the laboratory.
The most vulnerable, such as children, the elderly and people with chronic conditions are more likely to contract these infections.
Is it dangerous?
“When pneumococci spread to a normally sterile site, such as blood (bacteremia or septicemia), meninges (meningitis) or a joint (arthritis), pneumococcal infections are said to be invasive. Such infections can be serious and most often require hospitalization ”, specifies Santé publique France.
In France, around 6000 cases of invasive infections are counted each year, according to Pfizer, out of 130,000 pneumonia diseases. “The lethality is estimated between 10% and 30% during severe pneumonia. The people most affected are young children and adults over the age of 65, as well as patients suffering from comorbidities and immunosuppression, "explains the pharmaceutical laboratory.
How is this bacteria transmitted?
"Pneumococci are transmitted between people, by direct and close contact with the infected or carrier person, in particular during kissing, coughing or sneezing", specifies Public Health France.
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Close and prolonged contact for one hour promotes the transmission of the bacteria. This is probably what happened in the case of the Marseille yard, where the workers on board the ship were close.
How are infections treated?
These infections “can be treated with antibiotics”, specifies the Health Magazine, “the duration of treatment varies according to the pathology”. Against the resistance that has emerged in recent years, "effective treatments remain available".
A pneumococcal vaccine has been compulsory for infants since 2018. It is also recommended "for children over 2 years of age, adolescents and adults who are immunocompromised or have a chronic disease predisposing to the occurrence of an invasive pneumococcal infection", details Public health France.
Where does this pneumococcus come from?
For the moment, little information is available on the origin of this virus. Doctors who treated the patients noted, however, that a "similar epidemic" had taken place aboard a boat "in a port in Finland". “Some of our patients were there. It's a track, ”said Professor Philippe Parola at La Provence.
