Pneumococcal diseases

Together against pneumococcal diseases.

The pneumococcal diseases group a certain type of infections caused by a bacteria called Streptococcus pneumoniae. These diseases can range from ear and sinus infections to pneumonia and bloodstream infections.¹

Yearly, Streptococcus pneumoniae causes nearly 5800 hospitalisations² and 430 deaths² in Belgian adults above the age of 50. For the 65+ population, the mortality rate reaches 12%.³

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Publicly funded vaccination for adults

Why is there no publicly funded program for adults in place?

Despite a positive recommendation from the Belgian Superior Health Council, the vaccination rate in Flanders is very low (only 8.6%⁵), much lower than influenza (51.9%⁵) and COVID-19 (80%).⁶ This is partly due to the fact that the vaccine is not publicly funded for adults in Belgium.

There is a momentum of European countries like the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden who already have a government funded program.^{7, 8, 9}

Belgium is one of the only Western European countries without a publicly funded program for adults.^7–15

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This is how you can help!

You can help by raising awareness if you agree that pneumococcal diseases can have an important impact and that preventive measures are needed.

You can do this by sharing this webpage, talking to your friends and family, or by downloading and sharing the information brochure on pneumococcal diseases and their consequences.

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Download the brochure (NL & FR)

BE-NON-01594. Date of last revision: 03/2023.

Health Awareness

Results from the MSD’s #CancerScreening Barometer 2021

04/04/2022

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The MSD #CancerScreening Barometer is a survey that reflects the knowledge and attitude of the Belgian population towards cancer screening.

Cancer screening is an important factor that positively impacts disease outcome, unfortunately, the survey shows that 6 out of 10 Belgians have the feeling they lack information on screening.

Belgium is at the European top regarding breast cancer screening

But 78% of surveyed women weren’t aware of the recommended screening age of 50, and 25% of those above 55 years old have never had mammography.

Other cancers have even worse numbers, where 46% of men above 50 have never done a colon cancer screening and even 66% of them for prostate cancer.

1/3 of the respondents find cancer screening a painful and scary experience, but it saves lives.

Cancer screening is not a fun experience, 1/3 of the respondents find it a painful and scary experience, but it saves lives.

78% of the respondents also think we have a huge gap to fill in terms of cancer diagnosis due to the COVID-19 crisis, which has already been confirmed by the medical community.

Let’s work together on creating more awareness on screening and screening programs to help improve disease outcomes in Belgium.

Download the infographic in FR and NL.

Health Awareness

Finding yourself after surviving head and neck cancer

04/04/2022

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Head and neck cancer will impact not only someone’s health, but also someone’s sense of self. Paolo Berti survived head and neck cancer caused by the papillomavirus. In two years time, three tumors had to be removed. For the first tumor they used chemoradiotherapy, for the second a lymph node dissection and for the third tumor he had to undergo robotic surgery. Paolo shares his story about the way the disease has changed his life.

Something we need to talk about

It is pretty well known that the papillomavirus can cause severe diseases such as cervical cancer. It is less well known that it can also seriously affect men and cause diseases such as head and neck cancer.

“When you receive the diagnosis, you can’t help but ask yourself ‘why me?’. You don’t understand why this is happening to you. Being a non-smoker and a non-drinker, it took the doctors more than a year to determine that the disease was caused by the papillomavirus. That’s why it’s very important to me to talk about the ways in which this virus can affect men.”

Rebuilding life as a cancer survivor

The treatment of the head and neck cancer had a big effect on the way Paolo speaks. It is more difficult to understand him, which impacts both his personal and his professional relations.

“I was a salesman, I was often on the road. It was easy for me to talk to people. I was a communicative person. But now, unfortunately, communicating is not easy for me. My speech is not very clear, I am not easy to understand. Sometimes this can hold me back.

My friends and family know me, so it’s not an issue for them, but it’s hard when you have to ask for information on the phone or when you have to present yourself for work. Those moments are very difficult.

Accepting what happened

After the diagnosis and the treatment, Paolo was left feeling unhinged. The life he had known before was gone. He had to rediscover who he was and what was important to him.

“The most difficult part is accepting what happened and to find a new drive. Both physically and mentally, the recovery was very difficult. I lost 22 kg and had to rebuild a lot of muscle mass. And I had some trouble mentally, because many of the things that I did before are now no longer possible. Everything that you worked for the past 48 years, your studies, your career … just like that it’s gone.

You have to find yourself again. At the beginning it was very hard. But I have adopted two dogs and I often go on walks with them. Slowly, I am finding myself again. It was hard at first, but now I can manage.

Confucius once said: ‘you only have two lives and the second one begins once you realize that you only have one.’ To me, this means that you really have to enjoy every moment, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.”

It takes all of us to beat cancer

At MSD we are working hard to develop breakthrough innovations to prevent cancer or to give patients more quality in their lives and more time.

Read about the research that we do