Areas for action

Prevention

  • More smoking cessation programmes should be encouraged.

  • New and better vaccines need to be developed for high-risk groups.

Diagnosis and treatment

  • The causative pathogens of pneumonia need to be determined, along with improved knowledge of the distribution and frequency of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in patients with pneumonia.

Research

  • Clinical studies need to be initiated to determine the significance of antibiotic resistance.

  • Further randomised controlled clinical trials comparing antibiotic therapies are required.

  • The clinical applicability of new microbial diagnostic tools has to be evaluated.

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