On November 12, doctors across the world observed World Pneumonia Day, the leading cause of death amongst infants in India. One fourth of children, who succumb to pneumonia, are from India where an infant succumbs to the disease every 85 seconds. Childhood pneumonia is the leading cause of deaths in children less than 5 years in India. Dr Sundeep Salvi, director of Chest Research Foundation in Pune spoke with Alifiya Khan on how to save our children from the deadly disease.
What is pneumonia and what are its common causes?
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lungs, largely arising due to bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infections. Infants, young children and the elderly are the most vulnerable.
Poor nutrition, over-crowding, exposure to high levels of indoor and outdoor air pollution, alcoholism and reduced immunity are the major risk factors for the disease.
Why does pneumonia account for maximum infant deaths in India?
Pneumonia does account for 4 lakh deaths every year. In India, the reason for high number of deaths is malnutrition, exposure to high levels of indoor air pollution and over-crowding. More importantly, lack of vaccination against common micro-organisms that cause pneumonia is also a major contributor.
Is it preventable through vaccines? Are there any methods like breastfeeding for prevention?
Pneumonia can be significantly prevented in children through proper vaccination against pneumococcal disease, measles, whooping cough and Haemophilus influenzae type B.
Breastfeeding till six months can provide the infant with all the important antibodies from the mother, which help fight micro-organisms in case they enter the lungs, thereby significantly reducing the risk of pneumonia. Reducing indoor air
pollution levels due to burning of biomass, mosquito coils and
agarbattis will also help reduce the risk of pneumonia.
What are the symptoms and long-term effects of the disease?
Cough, which may be dry to start with and later become productive, fever in many cases associated with chills, chest pain, increased respiratory rate, sudden onset of weakness and confusion are the common symptoms. When treated early and appropriately, there is no residual damage.
In case of late or inappropriate treatment, the infection may spread to other organs of the body and may also leave a scar in the lungs that may be the seed for future recurrent
infections.
Is drug-resistant pneumonia on the rise? How can we prevent this?
Many bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics when used irrationally. Antibiotics are to be taken carefully and when patients do not follow
doctors’ advice, the risk of developing drug-resistant pneumonia
increases. Apart from doctors
prescribing the right antibiotics in the right doses, patients and parents should follow the doctor’s advice meticulously.
Comments
