Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley hospitalized

Sum 41 lead singer and guitarist Deryck Whibley has been hospitalized with “severe pneumonia” while on tour in Australia. The 30 year old singer is in a Sydney hospital and the group has had to cancel a few of their upcoming concerts. The group announced Whibley’s illness on their website, Sum41.com:

“We regret to inform everyone that we have had to cancel a few shows due to Deryck Whibley being hospitalised with severe pneumonia. Deryck is currently being treated in a Sydney hospital. Doctors are doing their best to beat the pneumonia and Deryck will remain in Sydney until he has recovered.

“As soon as Deryck is out of the hospital the band will return back to the stage performing their ‘Screaming Bloody Murder’ world tour with the usual high energy kick ass shows.”

In August 2010, the singer was injured when he was attacked at a bar in Tokyo. Whibley continued to perform despite being diagnosed with a slipped disc.

Pneumonia is an infection in one or both of the lungs. Many small germs, such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi, can cause pneumonia.The infection causes your lungs’ air sacs, called alveoli, to become inflamed. The air sacs may fill up with fluid or pus, causing symptoms such as a cough (with phlegm), fever, chills, and trouble breathing. Pneumonia can be a complication of upper respiratory infections, such as colds or flu, because the mucus in the airways is an excellent growth medium for germs.

Doctors listening to the chest with a stethoscope may hear a bubbling or crackling sound (called rales) or a harsh rumblings (called rhonchi) if pneumonia is present. Confirmation of the disease is made with an x-ray, which will show an area of increased “whiteness” in the infected area (normal lung tissue is mostly black on x-ray).

Symptoms of pneumonia can be mild to severe. Treatment is dependent on the organism causing the pneumonia- viruses can be treated symptomatically or with anti-viral medications, bacteria with antibiotics specific to the organism present. Pneumonia tends to be more serious for:

• Infants and young children.
• Older adults (people 65 years or older).
• People who have other health problems like heart failure, diabetes, or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
• People who have weak immune systems as a result of diseases or other factors. These may include HIV/AIDS, chemotherapy (a treatment for cancer), or an organ or bone marrow transplant.