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Pneumonia: India has most number of cases among children

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: India tops the list of 15 countries that account for three-quarters of childhood pneumonia cases worldwide.

World over, pneumonia kills more children than any other illness — AIDS, malaria and measles combined — states a report `Pneumonia — the forgotten killer of children,' brought out by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) late last year.

According to the report, India, with 44 million pneumonia cases, China with 18 million cases and Nigeria and Pakistan with seven million cases top the chart.

Respiratory infections

The disease causes acute infections in any part of the respiratory system — from the middle ear to the nose to the lungs. Acute respiratory infection is also a serious problem in India, accounting for 14.3 per cent deaths during infancy and 15.9 per cent deaths among children aged between 1-5 years in India, claim studies undertaken by experts.

It is estimated that more than 150 million cases of pneumonia occur every year among children under five in developing countries, accounting for more than 95 per cent of all new cases worldwide. Between 11 million and 20 million children with pneumonia will require hospitalisation, and more than two million will die from the disease, the report warns.

Stating that the incidence of pneumonia among children decreases with age, the report says that South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa bear the burden of more than half of the total number of pneumonia episodes worldwide among children under five.

The Unicef/WHO report states that effective interventions can save over a million lives.

The UNICEF and the WHO have published guidelines to diagnose and treat pneumonia in community settings in the developing world.

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Pneumonia: India has most number of cases among children

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