Pneumonia

Pneumonia can never be forgotten because of the mortality it causes in children all over the world. It is still undoubtedly the No. 1 killer disease in children under the age of five the world over. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 1.1 million children die due to pneumonia each year amounting to 18% of total mortalities in children under five.

Today we are observing World Pneumonia Day.

Facts that should be remembered:

• Pneumonia can be prevented with immunization, adequate nutrition and control of environmental risk factors.
• Pneumonia can be treated with the help of antibiotics. Unfortunately such antibiotics are accessible to only 30% of affected children.
• Fulminant pneumonia is more dangerous than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
• Pneumonia is caused by viruses, bacteria and fungi.
• Pneumonia spreads through air droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. It also spreads from mother to child during delivery through blood.
• The viruses and bacteria causing pneumonia stay in the nose and throat of children. When favorable conditions prevail, they enter the lungs and cause the disease.
• Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b are the two most common bacteria causing pneumonia in children and adults.
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common virus causing pneumonia. In children infected with HIV, pneumocystis is the most common pathogen causing death.

Symptoms and signs include:

• High fever of over 102 degree centigrade
• Indrawing chest wall
• Fast breathing with or without fever
• Inability to eat or drink in severe cases
• Unconsciousness, vomiting and seizures in a few children

Factors to be considered to reduce the spread of pneumonia:

• Isolate the person suffering from pneumonia from the community or household by admitting them in an isolation ward
• Cease smoking when there are children and infants living in the same house
• Use traditional methods of cooking which do not emit smoke in the house
• Avoid overcrowding (more people living within a single dwelling)
• Maintain good sanitation which involves basic personal hygiene, hand washing, safe drinking water and clean toilets
• Adequate nutritional support and compulsory vaccination programme against measles, diphtheria and haemophilus should be undertaken by states to control the burden of pneumonia amongst children.