Finally, given the high incidence of both nutritional Zn deficiency and the ZIP8 variant dysfunctional allele (rs13107325; Ala391Thr risk allele), can Zn supplementation or bacterial metabolite reconstitution, with butyrate or other analogs, be used to bolster host defense in at-risk populations, thereby reducing the high morbidity and mortality associated with pneumococcal pneumonia? Here, SLC39A8 is linked to pneumococcal pneumonia.