The Lung Microbiome and Pneumonia

Pneumonia is a heterogenous and complex disease; despite advances in diagnostics, treatment, and prevention, it remains a leading source of disease and death around the globe. Current methods to prevent pneumonia include pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for Streptococcus pneumoniae and vaccines for influenza. Definitive microbiological diagnosis for pneumonia is challenging and is not achieved in a substantial proportion of cases [1, 2]. Antibiotics for empiric treatment focus on selecting agents for coverage of major bacterial causes of disease [3]. The threat of antimicrobial resistance suggests that these empiric and definitive treatments will become increasingly compromised over the upcoming decades. Moreover, the epidemiology of pneumonia has shifted significantly since December 2019 due to the emergence and global spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as a major cause of viral pneumonia [4]. Future clinical and public health advances require that we broaden our conceptual framework for pneumonia pathogenesis to include consideration of the lung microbiome. However, many research questions need to be answered before the full public health and clinical potential of research on the lung microbiome and pneumonia is realized.

Automated summary

Pneumonia is a heterogeneous and complex disease that remains a leading source of disease and death globally, despite advancements in diagnostics, treatment, and prevention. Current methods for prevention include vaccines and antibiotic treatment, but the threat of antimicrobial resistance poses challenges to these treatments. Additionally, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has significantly shifted the epidemiology of pneumonia since December 2019, highlighting the need for a broader conceptual framework to address the pathogenesis of pneumonia.