This World Pneumonia Day, learn and prevent

This year on World Pneumonia Day, November 12, experts from the Hyderabad chapter of the Indian Academy of Pediatricsare stressing on the importance of preventing pneumonia, one of the leading causes of death amongst children under five years of age in the country. In addition, hospitalisations on account of pneumonia put a significant economic strain on the family and the health system of the country.

The experts fully endorse the Indian government’s decision to include the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in the country’s Universal Immunization Programme(UIP) and believe it will help India achieve one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3.2): reduce under-5 mortality.

Dr Sanjay Srirampur, Chief Consultant Pediatrician, Aditya Hospitals and former National Secretary of the Respiratory Chapter of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Hyderabad said,“Pneumonia should not be allowed to take as many lives as it does, because we now have vaccines that can help protect millions of children from this life-threatening disease. More than 140 countries have introduced the same pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in their immunisation programmes as India has recently done. In areas where the vaccine may not yet be available under the UIP, we advise parents to consult their pediatricians about alternative solutions that can offer broad coverage.”

The Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria that cause “pneumococcal pneumonia” are responsible for about one third of all pneumonia deaths, globally and in India. Many lives can now be saved from this disease through the administration of the PCV. According to a study published in 2015, there were an estimated 564, 200 cases of pneumococcal pneumonia episodes in children under 5 in India and23,000 cases in Telegu States.

Commenting on the need for stronger preventive action in India’s fight against pneumonia, Dr P Sudershan Reddy, Chairman and Chief Consultant Pediatrician, Krishna Children’s Hospital said, “Although India’s under- five mortality rate has reduced significantly since 2011, we still have the unfortunate tag of having the largest number of under-five deaths in 2016 as compared to any other country in the world.iii,iv Now with the inclusion of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in India’s UIP, we hope we can change this and come closer to meeting the Sustainable Development Goal of reducing under-5 mortalityin India.

In addition, the cases and mortality from pneumonia can be prevented with better nutrition, that is, exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months and the addition of complementary nutrition after that. We must also work towards reducing environmental pollution, which can lead to respiratory illness and limit exposure to smoking and air pollution from vehicles and industries.”