Several studies found that healthcare-associated pneumonia is the second most common type of pneumonia, occurring less commonly than community-acquired pneumonia but more frequently than hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia. In a recent observational study, the rates for CAP, HCAP and HAP were 60%, 25% and 15% respectively. Patients with HCAP are older and more commonly have simultaneous health problems (such as previous stroke, heart failure and diabetes).

The number of residents in long term care facilities is expected to rise dramatically over the next 30 years. These older adults are known to develop pneumonia 10 times more than their community-dwelling peers, and hospital admittance rates are 30 times higher.

CAP is common worldwide, and a major cause of death in all age groups. In children, most deaths (over two million a year) occur in newborn period. According to a World Health Organization estimate, one in three newborn deaths are from pneumonia. Mortality decreases with age until late adulthood, with the elderly at risk for CAP and its associated mortality.

More CAP cases occur during the winter than at other times of the year. CAP is more common in males than females, and more common in black people than Caucasians. Patients with underlying illnesses (such as Alzheimer's disease, cystic fibrosis, COPD, tobacco smoking, alcoholism or immune-system problems) have an increased risk of developing pneumonia.

Healthcare-associated pneumonia seems to have fatality rates similar to hospital-acquired pneumonia, worse than community-acquired pneumonia but less severe than pneumonia in ventilated patients. Besides clinical markers like tachypnea (fast breathing) or a high white cell count (leukocytosis), the prognosis seems to be influenced by the underlying associated diseases (comorbidities) and functional capacities (for example, the ADL score). Many patients have a decreased health condition after the episode.

CAP may be prevented by treating underlying illnesses increasing its risk, by smoking cessation and vaccination of children and adults. Vaccination against "haemophilus influenzae" and "streptococcus pneumoniae" in the first year of life has reduced their role in childhood CAP. A vaccine against "streptococcus pneumoniae", available for adults, is recommended for healthy individuals over 65 and all adults with COPD, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis, alcoholism, cerebrospinal fluid leaks or who have had a splenectomy. Re-vaccination may be required after five or ten years.

Patients who are vaccinated against "streptococcus pneumoniae", health professionals, nursing-home residents and pregnant women should be vaccinated annually against influenza. During an outbreak, drugs such as amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir and oseltamivir have been demonstrated to prevent influenza.

With treatment, most types of bacterial pneumonia will stabilize in 3–6 days. It often takes a few weeks before most symptoms resolve. X-ray finding typically clear within four weeks and mortality is low (less than 1%). In the elderly or people with other lung problems, recovery may take more than 12 weeks. In persons requiring hospitalization, mortality may be as high as 10%, and in those requiring intensive care it may reach 30–50%. Pneumonia is the most common hospital-acquired infection that causes death. Before the advent of antibiotics, mortality was typically 30% in those that were hospitalized.

Complications may occur in particular in the elderly and those with underlying health problems. This may include, among others: empyema, lung abscess, bronchiolitis obliterans, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and worsening of underlying health problems.

"Klebsiella" resistant strains have been recorded in USA with a roughly threefold increase in Chicago cases, quarantined individuals in Israel, United Kingdom and parts of Europe, possible ground zero, or location of emergence, is the India-Pakistan border.

A strain known as Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumonia (CRKP) was estimated to be involved in 350 cases in Los Angeles county between June and December 2010.

Smoking cessation and reducing indoor air pollution, such as that from cooking indoors with wood or dung, are both recommended. Smoking appears to be the single biggest risk factor for pneumococcal pneumonia in otherwise-healthy adults. Hand hygiene and coughing into one's sleeve may also be effective preventative measures. Wearing surgical masks by the sick may also prevent illness.

Appropriately treating underlying illnesses (such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes mellitus, and malnutrition) can decrease the risk of pneumonia. In children less than 6 months of age, exclusive breast feeding reduces both the risk and severity of disease. In those with HIV/AIDS and a CD4 count of less than 200 cells/uL the antibiotic trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole decreases the risk of "Pneumocystis pneumonia" and is also useful for prevention in those that are immunocomprised but do not have HIV.

Testing pregnant women for Group B Streptococcus and "Chlamydia trachomatis", and administering antibiotic treatment, if needed, reduces rates of pneumonia in infants; preventive measures for HIV transmission from mother to child may also be efficient. Suctioning the mouth and throat of infants with meconium-stained amniotic fluid has not been found to reduce the rate of aspiration pneumonia and may cause potential harm, thus this practice is not recommended in the majority of situations. In the frail elderly good oral health care may lower the risk of aspiration pneumonia. Zinc supplementation in children 2 months to five years old appears to reduce rates of pneumonia.

The most common causative organisms are (often intracellular living) bacteria:

- "Chlamydophila pneumoniae": Mild form of pneumonia with relatively mild symptoms.

- "Chlamydophila psittaci": Causes psittacosis.

- "Coxiella burnetii": Causes Q fever.

- "Francisella tularensis": Causes tularemia.

- "Legionella pneumophila": Causes a severe form of pneumonia with a relatively high mortality rate, known as legionellosis or Legionnaires' disease.

- "Mycoplasma pneumoniae": Usually occurs in younger age groups and may be associated with neurological and systemic (e.g. rashes) symptoms.

Atypical pneumonia can also have a fungal, protozoan or viral cause.In the past, most organisms were difficult to culture. However, newer techniques aid in the definitive identification of the pathogen, which may lead to more individualized treatment plans.

When comparing the bacterial-caused atypical pneumonias with these caused by real viruses (excluding bacteria that were wrongly considered as viruses), the term "atypical pneumonia" almost always implies a bacterial cause and is contrasted with viral pneumonia.

Known viral causes of atypical pneumonia include respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza A and B, parainfluenza, adenovirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

and measles.

Gram-negative bacteria are seen less frequently: "Haemophilus influenzae" (), "Klebsiella pneumoniae" (), "Escherichia coli" (), "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" (), "Bordetella pertussis", and "Moraxella catarrhalis" are the most common.

These bacteria often live in the gut and enter the lungs when contents of the gut (such as vomit or faeces) are inhaled.

"Streptococcus pneumoniae" () is the most common bacterial cause of pneumonia in all age groups except newborn infants. "Streptococcus pneumoniae" is a Gram-positive bacterium that often lives in the throat of people who do not have pneumonia.

Other important Gram-positive causes of pneumonia are "Staphylococcus aureus" () and "Bacillus anthracis".

In terms of the pathophysiology of Klebsiella pneumonia we see neutrophil myeloperoxidase defense against "K P".Oxidative inactivation of elastase is involved, while LBP helps transfer bacteria cell wall elements to the cells.

The incidence of pleural empyema and the prevalence of specific causative microorganisms varies depending on the source of infection (community acquired vs. hospital acquired pneumonia), the age of the patient and host immune status. Risk factors include alcoholism, drug use, HIV infection, neoplasm and pre-existent pulmonary disease. Pleural empyema was found in 0.7% of 3675 patients needing hospitalization for a community acquired pneumonia in a recent Canadian single-center prospective study. A multi-center study from the UK including 430 adult patients with community acquired pleural empyema found negative pleural-fluid cultures in 54% of patients, Streptococcus milleri group in 16%, Staphylococcus aureus in 12%, Streptococcus pneumoniae in 8%, other Streptococci in 7% and anaerobic bacteria in 8%. Given the difficulties in culturing anaerobic bacteria the frequency of the latter (including mixed infections) might be underestimated.

The risk of empyema in children seems to be comparable to adults. Using the United States Kids’ Inpatient Database the incidence is calculated to be around 1.5% in children hospitalized for community acquired pneumonia, although percentages up to 30% have been reported in individual hospitals, a difference which may be explained by an transient endemic of highly invasive serotype or overdiagnosis of small parapneumonic effusions. The distribution of causative organisms does differ greatly from that in adults: in an analysis of 78 children with community acquired pleural empyema, no micro-organism was found in 27% of patients, Streptococcus pneumoniae in 51%, Streptococcus pyogenes in 9% and Staphylococcus aureus in 8%.

Although pneumococcal vaccination dramatically decreased the incidence of pneumonia in children, it did not have this effect on the incidence of complicated pneumonia. It has been shown that the incidence of empyema in children was already on the rise at the end of the 20th century, and that the widespread use of pneumococcal vaccination did not slow down this trend. This might in part be explained by a change in prevalence of (more invasive) pneumococcal serotypes, some of which are not covered by the vaccine, as well a rise in incidence of pneumonia caused by other streptococci and staphylococci. The incidence of empyema seems to be rising in the adult population as well, albeit at a slower rate.

Since the start of the AIDS epidemic, PCP has been closely associated with AIDS. Because it only occurs in an immunocompromised host, it may be the first clue to a new AIDS diagnosis if the patient has no other reason to be immunocompromised (e.g. taking immunosuppressive drugs for organ transplant). An unusual rise in the number of PCP cases in North America, noticed when physicians began requesting large quantities of the rarely used antibiotic pentamidine, was the first clue to the existence of AIDS in the early 1980s.

Prior to the development of more effective treatments, PCP was a common and rapid cause of death in persons living with AIDS. Much of the incidence of PCP has been reduced by instituting a standard practice of using oral co-trimoxazole (Bactrim / Septra) to prevent the disease in people with CD4 counts less than 200/μL. In populations that do not have access to preventive treatment, PCP continues to be a major cause of death in AIDS.

Pneumococcal pneumonia is a type of bacterial pneumonia that is specifically caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. "S. pneumoniae" is also called pneumococcus. It is the most common bacterial pneumonia found in adults. The estimated number of Americans with pneumococcal pneumonia is 900,000 annually, with almost 400,000 cases hospitalized and fatalities accounting for 5-7% of these cases.

The symptoms of pneumococcal pneumonia can occur suddenly, typically presenting as a severe chill, later including a severe fever, cough, shortness of breath, rapid breathing, and chest pains. Other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches could also accompany the original symptoms. Sometimes the coughing can produce rusty or blood-streaked sputum. In 25% of cases, a parapneumonic effusion may occur. Chest X-rays will typically show lobar consolidation or patchy infiltrates.

In most cases, once pneumococcal pneumonia has been identified, doctors will prescribe antibiotics. These antibiotic usually help alleviate and eliminate symptoms between 12 and 36 hours after being taken. Despite most antibiotics' effectiveness in treating the disease, sometimes the bacteria can resist the antibiotics, causing symptoms to worsen. Additionally, age and health of the infected patient can contribute to the effectiveness of the antibiotics. A vaccine has also been developed for the prevention of pneumococcal pneumonia, recommended to children under age five as well as adults over the age of 65.

While it has been commonly known that the influenza virus increases one's chances of contracting pneumonia or meningitis caused by the streptococcus pneumonaie bacteria, new medical research in mice indicates that the flu is actually a necessary component for the transmission of the disease. Researcher Dimitri Diavatopoulo from the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands describes his observations in mice, stating that in these animals, the spread of the bacteria only occurs between animals already infected with the influenza virus, not between those without it. He says that these findings have only been inclusive in mice, however, he believes that the same could be true for humans.

Viral pneumonia occurs in about 200 million people a year which includes about 100 million children and 100 million adults.

The disease PCP is relatively rare in people with normal immune systems, but common among people with weakened immune systems, such as premature or severely malnourished children, the elderly, and especially persons living with HIV/AIDS (in whom it is most commonly observed). PCP can also develop in patients who are taking immunosuppressive medications. It can occur in patients who have undergone solid organ transplantation or bone marrow transplantation and after surgery. Infections with "Pneumocystis" pneumonia are also common in infants with hyper IgM syndrome, an X-linked or autosomal recessive trait.

The causative organism of PCP is distributed worldwide and "Pneumocystis" pneumonia has been described in all continents except Antarctica. Greater than 75% of children are seropositive by the age of 4, which suggests a high background exposure to the organism. A post-mortem study conducted in Chile of 96 persons who died of unrelated causes (suicide, traffic accidents, and so forth) found that 65 (68%) of them had pneumocystis in their lungs, which suggests that asymptomatic pneumocystis infection is extremely common.

"Pneumocystis jirovecii" was originally described as a rare cause of pneumonia in neonates. It is commonly believed to be a commensal organism (dependent upon its human host for survival). The possibility of person-to-person transmission has recently gained credence, with supporting evidence coming from many different genotyping studies of "Pneumocystis jirovecii" isolates from human lung tissue. For example, in one outbreak of 12 cases among transplant patients in Leiden, it was suggested as likely, but not proven, that human-to-human spread may have occurred.

Some patients may develop pneumonia, lymphadenopathy, or septic arthritis.

There are several risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing bacteremia from any type of bacteria. These include:

- HIV infection

- Diabetes Mellitus

- Chronic hemodialysis

- Solid organ transplant

- Stem cell transplant

- Treatment with glucocorticoids

- Liver failure

Common causes of viral pneumonia are:

- "Influenza virus" A and B

- "Respiratory syncytial virus" (RSV)

- "Human parainfluenza viruses" (in children)

Rarer viruses that commonly result in pneumonia include:

- "Adenoviruses" (in military recruits)

- "Metapneumovirus"

- "Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus" (SARS coronavirus)

- "Middle East respiratory syndrome virus" (MERS coronavirus)

Viruses that primarily cause other diseases, but sometimes cause pneumonia include:

- "Herpes simplex virus" (HSV), mainly in newborns or young children

- "Varicella-zoster virus" (VZV)

- "Measles virus"

- "Rubella virus"

- "Cytomegalovirus" (CMV), mainly in people with immune system problems

- "Smallpox virus"

- "dengue virus"

The most commonly identified agents in children are "respiratory syncytial virus", "rhinovirus", "human metapneumovirus", "human bocavirus", and "parainfluenza viruses".

All patients with empyema require outpatient follow-up with a repeat chest X-ray and inflammatory biochemistry analysis within 4 weeks following discharge. Chest radiograph returns to normal in the majority of patients by 6 months. Patients should of course be advised to return sooner if symptoms redevelop. Long-term sequelae of pleural empyema are rare but include bronchopleural fistula formation, recurrent empyema and pleural thickening, which may lead to functional lung impairment needing surgical decortication.

Approximately 15% of adult patients with pleural infection die within 1 year of the event, although deaths are usually due to comorbid conditions and not directly due to sepsis from the empyema. Mortality in children is generally reported to be less than 3%. No reliable clinical, radiological or pleural fluid characteristics accurately determine patients’ prognosis at initial presentation.

There is low or very-low quality evidence that probiotics may be better than placebo in preventing acute URTIs. Vaccination against influenza viruses, adenoviruses, measles, rubella, "Streptococcus pneumoniae", "Haemophilus influenzae", diphtheria, "Bacillus anthracis", and "Bordetella pertussis" may prevent them from infecting the URT or reduce the severity of the infection.

Some strains of group A streptococci (GAS) cause severe infection. Severe infections are usually invasive, meaning that the bacteria has entered parts of the body where bacteria are not usually found, such as the blood, lungs, deep muscle or fat tissue. Those at greatest risk include children with chickenpox; persons with suppressed immune systems; burn victims; elderly persons with cellulitis, diabetes, vascular disease, or cancer; and persons taking steroid treatments or chemotherapy. Intravenous drug users also are at high risk. GAS is an important cause of puerperal fever worldwide, causing serious infection and, if not promptly diagnosed and treated, death in newly delivered mothers. Severe GAS disease may also occur in healthy persons with no known risk factors.

All severe GAS infections may lead to shock, multisystem organ failure, and death. Early recognition and treatment are critical. Diagnostic tests include blood counts and urinalysis as well as cultures of blood or fluid from a wound site.

Severe Group A streptococcal infections often occur sporadically but can be spread by person-to-person contact.

Public Health policies internationally reflect differing views of how the close contacts of people affected by severe Group A streptococcal infections should be treated. Health Canada and the US CDC recommend close contacts see their doctor for full evaluation and may require antibiotics; current UK Health Protection Agency guidance is that, for a number of reasons, close contacts should not receive antibiotics unless they are symptomatic but that they should receive information and advice to seek immediate medical attention if they develop symptoms. However, guidance is clearer in the case of mother-baby pairs: both mother and baby should be treated if either develops an invasive GAS infection within the first 28 days following birth (though some evidence suggests that this guidance is not routinely followed in the UK).

Epiglottitis is typically due to a bacterial infection of the epiglottis. While it historically was most often caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B with immunization this is no longer the case. Bacteria that are now typically involved are "Streptococcus pneumoniae", "Streptococcus pyogenes", or "Staphylococcus aureus".

Other possible causes include burns and trauma to the area. Epiglottitis has been linked to crack cocaine usage. Graft versus host disease and lymphoproliferative disorder can also be a cause.

Children have 2-9 viral respiratory illnesses per year. In 2013 18.8 billion cases of upper respiratory infections were reported. As of 2014, upper respiratory infections caused about 3,000 deaths down from 4,000 in 1990. In the United States, URIs are the most common infectious illness in the general population. URIs are the leading reasons for people missing work and school.