It is the first infectious cause of death in children, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Pneumonia is thought to be responsible for 15% of the total number of deaths of children under 5 worldwide. In 2015, 922,000 of them would have died. And if current trends continue, this lung infection could be the cause of 10.8 million deaths by 2030, according to projections made by the American Johns-Hopkins University (USA) and the NGO Save the Children published this Monday, November 12, World Pneumonia Day.
4.1 million children could be saved
Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection of the lungs. In general, it normally heals in one to two weeks. But in fragile people, especially the youngest children, it can be complicated. In most cases and when the disease is caused by bacteria, a simple antibiotic treatment is sufficient. For the most severe cases, oxygen therapy supplemented by this antibiotic treatment reduces the risk of death.
There are also preventive actions, such as good nutrition, systematic hand washing in the child’s entourage, but above all vaccines specific to the pathology. “Prevention is possible thanks to vaccination, a satisfactory nutritional status and an improvement in environmental factors”, underlines the WHO. By increasing global immunization coverage, ensuring better access to antibiotics and reducing malnutrition, 4.1 million children could be saved, according to the report.
A disease that affects the poorest countries
However, the children who die from this infection mainly live in poor countries and cannot access health services. In 2015, 180,000 died from it in India, 130,000 in Nigeria, 64,000 in Pakistan and 46,000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And for good reason, 170 million children in the world are not vaccinated against pneumonia, according to Samy Ahmar, Health Director of Save the Children questioned by Release.
“It is unthinkable that nearly a million children die each year from a disease that we have the ability to overcome., explained to theAFP relayed by BFM TVthe director general of this same NGO, Kevin Watkins. There is no world summit or march against pneumonia. Still, anyone concerned about children’s health should consider this neglected killer a priority cause. » He thus pleads for a drastic drop in the price of vaccines. Today, the disease kills two children under the age of five every minute, more than malaria, diarrhea and measles combined.
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