Eighty-four out of 1,000 infants die before reaching their first birthday due to pneumonia and diarrhoea, the two major "killer" diseases which are preventable in Pakistan, child health experts said at a press briefing on Tuesday. While diarrhoea has been largely controlled with the help of ORS, pneumonia is still a challenge, with its prevalence common among children.
Free vaccination is available in Pakistan but its usage is hardly 60 percent. People are not sensitized on the very issue primarily due to lake of awareness campaigns, the speakers belonging to the Pakistan Paediatric Association said at the press briefing. The PPA's president, Jamal Raza, who heads the National Institute of Child Health said that pneumonia accounts for more than 920,000 deaths among children of under five years of age across the world. Pakistan is among the top five countries accounting for most childhood pneumonia cases.
Citing estimates of the World Health Organization, he said pneumonia accounts for 16 percent of all child deaths in the world, which makes it the leading killer of under-five children. Dr Raza said Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. When an individual has pneumonia, the alveoli, the small sacs in lungs which fill with air when a healthy person breathes, are filled with pus and fluid. This makes breathing painful and limits the intake of oxygen. Vaccines are considered second only to clean drinking water in reduction of infectious diseases, he added
Dr Khalid Shafi, general secretary of PPA Sindh said children under five with severe cases of pneumonia may struggle to breathe, with their chests moving in or retracting during inhalation, something known as "lower chest wall indrawing." Young infants may suffer convulsions, unconsciousness, hypothermia, lethargy and feeding problem. Pneumonia is caused by a number of infective agents including viruses, bacteria and fungi, he explained. The most common causes of pneumonia in children include streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type B, also known as Hib.
Dr Jalal Akber, who is a professor of Paediatrics at Baqai Medical University, said preventing children from developing pneumonia, in the first place, is critical to reducing its death toll. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, also called pneumonia vaccine, is introduced in Pakistan's EPI programme in October, 2012, and this achievement made Pakistan the first South Asian country to include PCV in its national immunization programme, he added.
Dr Jameel Akhter, chairman PPA's Karachi Chapter, said proper nutrition, clean drinking water and vaccines are important to fight pneumonia. Vaccines against pneumococcus, Hib, pertussis, and measles can prevent a significant portion of pneumonia cases from ever occurring," he added. Preventive measures against pneumonia avert treatment costs and losses due to illness, he said, and this allows children to grow up to be healthy, productive adults.