Jeremy Clarkson, 57, was admitted to hospital in Majorca on Friday after falling ill while on holiday.
He wrote on social media: “To keep you up to date, I’ll be out of action for quite some time apparently.
“It’s really really annoying because I’ve never had one day off work since I started in 1978.”
While the TV presenter is expected to make a full recovery, the condition is life-threatening for some.
It kills 80 people every day in Britain, and affects the youngest and oldest age groups the most.
The condition is swelling – or inflammation – of the tissue in one or both lungs, according to the NHS.
Symptoms might develop over 24 to 48 hours, or they may appear more slowly over several days.
The main signs include a cough – dry or with coloured or blood-stained mucus – difficulty breathing, rapid heartbeat, fever, loss or appetite and chest pain.
Less common symptoms are coughing up blood, headaches, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, wheezing, joint and muscle pain and feeling disoriented.
It’s usually caused by a pneumococcal infection – however it may caused by other types of bacteria, as well as viruses or fungi – and is most widespread in the autumn and winter.
People over 65 years in the UK are offered the pneumococcal vaccine by the NHS to protect against pneumonia.
This is because the elderly are one of the groups at an increased risk.
Other groups include babies and very young children, people who smoke, those suffering asthma, cystic fibrosis, or a heart, kidney or liver condition, or people with a weakened immune system.
Complications of the condition include pleurisy, a lung abscess and blood poisoning.
According to the NHS, it isn’t usually passed between people.
Mild pneumonia can be treated at home with rest, antibiotics and drinking plenty of fluids, however sometimes it can be severe and require hospitalisation – as in Clarkson’s case.
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