How Childhood Pneumonia Can Be Detected Early And Prevented

In India, every four minutes one child is lost to pneumonia. The country tops the list of nations across the world, both in terms of the number of cases of pneumonia and pneumonia deaths.

Pneumonia: Covering your own nose and mouth while sneezing and the use of face masks around those infected can bring down the risk of developing pneumonia as viruses and bacteria causing pneumonia can spread via air-borne droplets from a cough or sneeze.

By Dr Sunit Singhi

Pneumonia is the deadliest infection responsible for more deaths of children under 5 years of age than any other infectious disease. In India, every four minutes one child is lost to pneumonia. The country tops the list of nations across the world, both in terms of the number of cases of pneumonia and pneumonia deaths. However, such deaths are avoidable in most cases.

The most effective and easily accessible way to prevent childhood pneumonia is timely vaccinations against Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), Pneumococcus (Prevnar, Pneumosil), Measles (MR/MMR vaccine), whooping cough (DPT vaccine) and Influenza. Hib vaccine reduces X-ray-proven pneumonia by 18 per cent and pneumococcal vaccine by 23 to 35 per cent, and a 30 per cent reduction in overall childhood pneumonia deaths. All these vaccinations, except the influenza vaccine, are part of the national vaccination program and are available free of cost in all government-run health-care facilities.   

Adequate nutrition is key to improving children's natural defences against various diseases. It should start with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months reduces the incidence of pneumonia by 23 per cent. In addition to preventing pneumonia, it helps reduce the severity of pneumonia even if a child becomes ill. On the other hand, failure to breastfeed during the first six months increases the risk of death from pneumonia by 15.1 times.

Addressing environmental factors such as indoor air pollution (for example, by avoiding indoor smoking) and encouraging well-ventilated rooms with adequate air exchange also reduces the number of children who fall ill with pneumonia. The use of air purifiers, especially with severely deteriorating air quality, is another effective preventive measure. 

Covering your own nose and mouth while sneezing and the use of face masks around those infected can bring down the risk of developing pneumonia as viruses and bacteria causing pneumonia can spread via air-borne droplets from a cough or sneeze. This becomes especially important for children during the flu season or toddlers in a creche or daycare. Any family member with flu-like symptoms viz fever, cough, runny nose, and sore throat should maintain physical distance from the child and avoid sharing utensils.

Early detection and prompt treatment of children with pneumonia dramatically improve outcomes. Any child under 5 years of age having a cough and/or difficulty breathing, with or without fever may have pneumonia; more severely ill children may stop feeding, become cold and sometimes unconscious. They should receive prompt consultation with a doctor.  

Pneumonia is eminently preventable and treatable. By following the aforementioned steps, we can reduce pneumonia-related deaths to less than 0.3 per cent which is the aim of UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) as per their Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD).

(The author is a professor and HoD, Paediatric Department, Amrita Hospital, Faridabad).

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