Because it mainly concerns developing countries and it is a disease well taken care of in France, we tend to forget the ravages of pneumonia throughout the world, especially among children of less than 5 years old. However, 1 child in the world dies every 20 seconds from this disease.
What is pneumonia?
Pneumonia is defined as an acute respiratory infection affecting the lungs. These are made up of air cells that fill with air when a healthy person breathes. In pneumonia, the alveoli are filled with pus and fluid, which makes breathing painful and limits oxygen absorption. Pneumonia can be bacterial, viral or caused by a fungus.
What are the risk factors?
The children and the the elderly are particularly at risk because their immune system is more fragile. Moreover, in France, it is recommended that the elderly get vaccinated against pneumococcus, a bacterium that can cause pneumonia. Immunocompromised people (affected by HIV for example) are also more susceptible to infections.
What are the treatments for pneumonia?
Pneumonia caused by bacteria can be treated with antibiotics. Hospitalization is recommended for infants under two months of age and for more severe cases. But, in the majority of developing countries, access to these antibiotics is difficult and expensive, which explains the very high mortality rate among children affected by the disease.
pneumonia
