Around 2.4 million children die from pneumonia every year: 'World Pneumonia Day' observed

'World Pneumonia Day' was observed here on Friday like other parts of the globe with a renewed pledge to continue efforts for ensuring healthy growth and development of children through raising awareness about the disease that kills more children than any other illness.
To mark the day, different health organisations and NGOs organised functions to raise awareness among public to combat this deadly disease. Addressing these functions, speakers said: "Around 2.4 million children die from pneumonia each year, accounting for almost 1 in 5 under five deaths world-wide. More than 10 million under-five children die each year globally and pneumonia is one of the leading causes occurring, mostly in the Africa, South-East Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean region."
According to them, an estimated 10 million cases of pneumonia are reported every year in Pakistan. The child mortality rate could be checked through properly managing the disease of pneumonia and diarrhea, which are the major killers of our children.
They said that pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. The lungs are made up of small sacs called alveoli, which fill with air when a healthy person breathes. When an individual has pneumonia, the alveoli are filled with pus and fluid, which makes breathing painful and limits oxygen intake. Pneumonia is caused by a number of infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria and fungi. The most common are: Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), respiratory syncytial virus.
Pakistan Medical Society Chairman Dr Masood Sheikh said that pneumonia can be spread in a number of ways. The viruses and bacteria that are commonly found in a child's nose or throat can infect the lungs if they are inhaled. They may also spread via air-borne droplets from a cough or sneeze. In addition, pneumonia may spread through blood, especially during and shortly after birth. More research needs to be done on the different pathogens causing pneumonia and the ways they are transmitted, as this has critical importance for treatment and prevention, he asserted.
According to him, the symptoms of viral and bacterial pneumonia are similar. However, the symptoms of viral pneumonia may be more numerous than the symptoms of bacterial pneumonia. The symptoms of pneumonia include: rapid or difficult breathing, cough, fever, chills, loss of appetite and wheezing (more common in viral infections).
While most healthy children can fight the infection with their natural defences, children whose immune systems are compromised are at higher risk of developing pneumonia, he said, adding: "A child's immune system may be weakened by malnutrition or undernourishment, especially in infants who are not exclusively breastfed."
Dr Masood Sheikh said preventing pneumonia in children is an essential component of a strategy to reduce child mortality. Immunization against Hib, pneumococcus, measles and whooping cough (pertussis) is the most effective way to prevent pneumonia, he added.
He further said adequate nutrition is key to improving children's natural defences, starting with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Addressing environmental factors such as indoor air pollution (by providing affordable clean indoor stoves, for example) and encouraging good hygiene in crowded homes also reduces the number of children who fall ill with pneumonia, he added.
He further said the cost of treating all children with pneumonia in 42 of the world's poorest countries is estimated at over US $700 million per year. Treating pneumonia in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa - which account for 85 percent of deaths - would cost a third of this total.