As H1N1 cases are rising, so are bacterial pneumonia cases, health officials are finding.

    They're seeing an increase in flu complications leading to pneumonia. At the same time, the flu is at record levels because of the new H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.

    The number of cases is outpacing the typical number of regular flu cases at this time of year. Cases of regular flu usually peak between December and May.

    "We're seeing an increase in serious pneumococcal infectious around the country," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, who heads the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Special Coverage: H1N1 -- Fighting swine flu

    The CDC tracks pneumococcal infections with help from 10 state health departments.

    For instance, Denver, Colorado, averages about 20 cases of pneumonia in October during a regular flu season, Schuchat said. But "in October 2009, they had nearly triple that number."

    The Denver area has seen 58 flu-related pneumonia cases, and at least two-thirds of those sickened were aged 20 to 60, she said.

    During a regular flu season, most serious cases of flu and flu-related pneumonia occur in people 65 or older. However, people younger than 65 are much more vulnerable to H1N1, because the virus is unlike any other flu their bodies have come in contact with.

    A flu infection thins the lining of the respiratory tract, making the lungs more vulnerable to bacteria that can cause pneumonia.

    CDC officials are urging high-risk adults to get vaccinations against both pneumonia and H1N1.

    Smokers and people with diabetes; chronic heart, lung and liver disease; or HIV are considered high-risk.

    Only 25 percent of high-risk adults under age 65 have gotten a pneumonia vaccination, Schuchat said at a news briefing Wednesday.

    "It's a vaccine you pretty much get once as an adult, not every year, the way the flu vaccine works," she said.

    The CDC also announced that 7 million more doses of H1N1 vaccine have been made available since Friday, bringing the total doses available so far to 61.2 million.

    CDC officials have studied safety data since H1N1 vaccinations started in early October.

    "So far, everything we've seen is very reassuring," Schuchat said. " … we're seeing patterns that are pretty much exactly what were seeing with the seasonal flu vaccine."

    Most of the reported side effects include sore arms and tenderness at the injection site.

    Health officials are particularly interested in a side effect that can cause a rare neurological illness called Guillain-Barre syndrome, because the last time a large-scale pandemic vaccination program was launched, in 1976, there was an alarming rise in Guillain-Barre cases.

    This time, after millions of Americans have been vaccinated, Schuchat said, only 10 potential cases of Guillain-Barre have been reported, which is similar to what health officials see during a regular flu season.

    卫生部发现随着H1N1感染病例的增加，细菌性肺炎病例也在增加。

    他们看到流感导致的肺炎的增加。同时，由于新的H1N1病毒也就是猪流感，使流感在记录层。

    今年，这些病例数量上超过了典型的常规流感病例。普通流感通常在11月和5月间高发。

    国家疾病控制和预防中心的免疫和呼吸系统疾病主管Anne Schuchat医生说："国内严重的肺炎链球菌感染的病例在增加。"

    特殊的覆盖性：H1N1-猪流感的发现

    疾病控制和预防中心追踪来自10个州卫生部门的肺炎球菌感染病例。

    举个例子：Schuchat说科罗拉多州的丹弗，在通常的流感季节的10月份，平均有20个肺炎病例，"但在2009年的10月，这个数字接近3倍。"

    她说：丹弗已有58个流感-相关的肺炎病例，其中至少2/3是年龄20到60岁的。

    通常流感季节，大部分严重的流感或流感相关的肺炎病例发生在65岁以上的人群。而不同于其他流感的是，对H1N165岁一下的人群更易感。

    流感使呼吸道变薄，使肺更容易感染细菌导致肺炎。

    疾病控制和预防中心正在敦促高风险的成年人接种疫苗抵御肺炎和H1N1.

    烟民、糖尿病患者、慢性心肺以及肝脏疾病或艾滋病患者被认为是高风险人群。

    她说："成年人接种一次疫苗，就会有作用了，不必每年都接种。

    疾病控制和预防中心也宣称自五月份已经制备了7,000,000更大剂量的H1N1疫苗，使到目前为止总剂量达到61,200,000.

    疾病控制和预防中心已经研究了自H1N1疫苗在10月早期注射以来的安全资料。

    "到目前为止，我们看到情况还是令人安慰的，"Schuchat说"我们看到季节性流感疫苗的情况和我们希望看到的情况是一致的。"

    大多数报道的副作用包括注射部位的胳膊酸或轻微疼痛。

    卫生官员特别对一种罕见的称为Guillain-Barre综合征的神经系统的副作用感兴趣。因为在1976年，进行持续的大比例流感疫苗接种，Guillain-Barre出现了令人担忧的增加。

    Schuchat说这一次，在百万美国人接种后，只有10例潜在的Guillain-Barre病例被报道。这个情况与卫生官员在通常流感季节看到的情况相似。