Last year, 1,057 people, including 34 children under the age of 5, died of pneumonia. Globally, more than 2 million people, including 800 thousand children, lose their lives annually due to this condition. The data are presented by the National Agency for Public Health in the context of World Pneumonia Day, marked on November 12, reports IPN.
Pneumonia is a serious respiratory infection caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi, which affects the lungs, limiting the supply of oxygen to the body’s cells. The most vulnerable being children under 5 and adults over 70. Symptoms of pneumonia can range from mild to very severe, the most common being cough, fever, chills, difficulty breathing, chest pain, general malaise, fatigue, loss of appetite, etc. Other symptoms may vary depending on the cause, severity of the disease, age and other factors.
Risk factors that increase susceptibility to pneumonia include limited access to prevention and care services, malnutrition, air pollution from burning fossil fuels and tobacco use, presence of chronic diseases, etc.
To prevent pneumonia, several health practices are essential. These include supporting and promoting exclusive breastfeeding during the first 6 months of life, a practice that can reduce the incidence of pneumonia by 23%. Likewise, specialists recommend ensuring adequate and balanced nutrition, such as immunization against pneumococcus, Hib, whooping cough, measles, flu, COVID, etc.
World Pneumonia Day was initiated by the Global Coalition Against Childhood Pneumonia, within the “Stop Pneumonia” Initiative and supported by the World Health Organization and UNICEF to raise public awareness of pneumonia and prompt countries to take preventive measures and pneumonia control.
2023-11-11 07:42:56
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