HEALTH chiefs are warning people to guard against a deadly disease that claims 14,000 victims nationwide every year.

Public knowledge about pneumococcal disease remains low and health chiefs hope that by raising the profile, more people can be saved and hospital admissions reduced.

The disease is caused by the bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae. It strikes one in every 1,000 people. Most victims are over 65. Dr Bharat Pankhania, Wiltshire consultant for communicable disease control, said people in 'at risk' groups can protect themselves against the disease, which can cause pneumonia, meningitis and blood poisoning, with an injection.

Close contact with infected people, who often carry the bacterium in their nose or throat, is the commonest form of transmission.

The disease is usually passed on within a family or close community environment. GPs in west Wiltshire are ready to administer thousands of injections for flu and pneumococcal disease over the next few months.

Dr Pankhania is advising all people at risk of the disease, including those with diabetes, heart, lung or liver disease, people with sickle cell disease and HIV sufferers, to have the jab.

Pneumonia is still one of the most common reasons for hospital admissions with an estimated 50,000 cases a year. Health chiefs hope they can prevent cases of the disease and free beds in time for an expected increase in demand this winter.

Pneumococcal bacteria are the second biggest cause of bacterial meningitis in the country but are more likely to cause minor conditions like earache.

Most cases of pneumococcal meningitis affect children under two or adults with specific problems like head injuries, diseases of the blood or circulation, or immune deficiency.

Fact FIle

More people die from respiratory disease than heart disease in the UK and around two-fifths of deaths are from pneumonia the main respiratory killer.

Pneumococcal disease is the general term used for any illness caused by the bacterium streptococcus pneumoniae (known as pneumococcus) and is the most common cause of community-acquired pneumonia.

Up to 60 per cent of healthy people in the community carry the streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium in their nose and throat without suffering any ill effects.

Pneumococcal disease can be hard to diagnose and treat and in some instances the bacteria have become resistant to standard antibiotics.