The Hindu : Front Page : India tops in childhood pneumonia cases

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 05, 2007
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India tops in childhood pneumonia cases

Staff Reporter

The country has 44 million cases while China reported 18 million, says report

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).

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.

"Preventing children from developing pneumonia in the first place is essential for reducing child deaths. Key prevention measures include promoting adequate nutrition [including breast feeding and zinc intake], raising immunisation rates and reducing air pollution."

Recent research also suggests that hand washing may help reduce the incidence of pneumonia. "Prompt treatment of pneumonia with a full course of appropriate antibiotic is life-saving," the report notes.

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

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