Tomorrow, November 12 is observed as World Pneumonia Day and on eve of this day, the Coimbatore chapter of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) called for a press meet. At this meeting the panel of doctors briefed on how Pneumonia continued to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children aged less than 5 years.
Dr. K. Rajendran, President of IAP, CBE Chapter apprised that, “Viral pneumonia is common in Coimbatore, however incidence of bacterial pneumonia has been reduced in the past five years. He also said that among the total reported incidents of pneumonia 70% cases are bacterial pneumonia. The top risk factors for children to be effected by pneumonia are low birth weight, lack of breast feeding and overcrowding. It will be a burden for the families to bear the cost of the treatment for pneumonia instead they can prevent pneumonia by proper immunizations with Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) which is a safe and a cost-effective preventive measure.
Bacterial pneumonia which is also known as Pneumococcal disease is more severe than other types of pneumonia which leads to health complications like meningitis (brain infection), acute otitis (era infection), and in some cases even death. Symptoms of pneumonia include dry cough, chest pain, fever, shaking chills, difficulty in breathing, nausea, fatigue and quick heart rate.
India is one among the top five countries affected by pneumonia with 44 percent pneumonia cases in the world. The Medical community is taking strong measures to reduce the incidence of pneumonia in India. The world health organisation has recommended the PCV vaccine to be included in the national which will save 7-8 million cases annually. This doctor also added that PCV13 is better in efficacy compared to other pneumonia vaccines'.
Dr. Jayavardhana, Secretary, IAP Coimbatore said, “Breastfeeding for 1-2 years, balanced nutrition, avoidance of pollution and vaccination is important for prevention of pneumonia in infants. Vaccination is compulsory for high risk infants who are born premature, immune-compromised, with low birth weight and congenital heart disease. Lack of national data on pneumonia cases and deaths is a challenge to prove that pneumonia is a concern. There is also a need for national pneumococcal disease surveillance to alleviate the paediatric pneumonia burden in the country.”