Bacterial and viral pneumonia: New insights from the Drakenstein Child Health Study.

Pneumonia remains the major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality globally, despite improved preventative strategies. Increasing evidence also links early life pneumonia with the development of chronic non-communicable respiratory diseases into childhood and adulthood. The Drakenstein Child Health Study is a unique, multidisciplinary, South African birth cohort, investigating the incidence, risk factors, aetiology and long term impact of early life pneumonia on child health. The study provides novel data showing a high incidence of pneumonia despite excellent immunisation coverage; that pneumonia is due to multiple pathogens; that dysbiosis of the nasopharyngeal flora precedes and predisposes to pneumonia; and that early life pneumonia results in reduced lung function.