Pneumonia continues to kill 92,000

children in Pakistan every year

Islamabad

Even after the inclusion of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (pneumonia vaccine) in the Expanded Programme on Immunoisation (EPI) four years ago, a large number of children are still not being vaccinated, resulting in 92,000 Under-5 year deaths in Pakistan.

On World Pneumonia Day, paediatricians have urged parents to get their children vaccinated against the biggest killer of children, pneumonia.

Dr. Ejaz A. Khan, chief paediatric consultant at Shifa International Hospital (SIH) said, “Preventing children from developing pneumonia in the first place is critical to reducing its death toll. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was introduced in EPI in October 2012, making Pakistan the first South Asian country to include PCV in its national immunisation programme, yet lack of awareness and low coverage is alarming.”

Dr. Ejaz added, “Globally, pneumonia kills 900,000 children under 5 and accounts for 16% of the total child deaths, making it the leading killer of children under-5 years. Proper nutrition, clean drinking water, and vaccines are important to fight pneumonia. Vaccines against pneumococcus, Hib, pertussis, and measles can prevent a significant portion of pneumonia cases from ever occurring.”

Dr. Samia Naeem Ullah, head of the department of paedriatrics at Islamic International Medical College, Riphah University said, “Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection that affects the lungs. When an individual has pneumonia, the alveoli (small sacs in lungs which fill with air when a healthy person breathes) are filled with fluid, which makes breathing painful and limits oxygen intake,” she added.

“Children under five with severe cases of pneumonia may struggle to breathe, with their chests moving in or retracting during inhalation (known as ‘lower chest wall indrawing’). Young infants may suffer convulsions, unconsciousness, hypothermia, lethargy and feeding problem,” Dr. Samia added.

She said, pneumonia is caused by a number of infectious agents including viruses, bacteria and fungi. The most common causes of pneumonia amongst children include streptococcus pneumoniae and haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).