Key Facts

Disease

What is pneumonia?

• Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs, filling them with fluid.
• The lungs are made of small sacs called alveoli, which fill with air when a healthy person breathes. When an individual has pneumonia, the alveoli are filled with pus and fluid, which makes breathing difficult and painful and limits oxygen intake.
• Severe pneumonia can be deadly.

Who is most at risk?

• In developing countries, children under 5 years of age are at risk, especially in poor and rural communities.[1]
• Tobacco smoke and other indoor air pollution increase susceptibility to pneumonia.[2],[3]
• Some children and adults are at greater risk because they have other illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS.[4], [5] People with HIV stand a much greater chance of dying from pneumonia than those who do not have HIV.[6]
• Children who are poorly nourished can also have weakened immune systems, putting them at higher risk of contracting pneumonia.[7]

What causes pneumonia?

• Globally, bacteria such as Hib and pneumococcus are estimated to cause more than 50% of pneumonia deaths in children under 5 years of age. [8]
• Viruses and fungi can also cause pneumonia infections.[9]

How is pneumonia diagnosed?

• In resource-poor settings, pneumonia can be diagnosed by the symptoms it causes, including cough, fever and difficulty or fast breathing.[10]
• In children who have a cough or difficulty breathing, health workers diagnose pneumonia by counting the number of breaths per minute, looking for chest indrawing and listening for wheezing. If a pulse oximeter is available, health workers will use this to determine the level of oxygen in the blood.
• Chest X-rays and laboratory tests can also diagnose pneumonia, but these tools are often unavailable in developing countries, especially in remote rural communities, making it more difficult to diagnose and treat pneumonia.

How is pneumonia prevented?

• Immunizations against Hib, pneumococcus, measles, and whooping cough (pertussis) are the most effective ways of preventing pneumonia.[11,12]
• Measles and pertussis (whooping cough) infections can result in pneumonia complications, so vaccinating against these childhood diseases can prevent some pneumonia cases.[13]
• Adequate nutrition is key to improving children’s natural defenses, starting with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. In addition to being effective in preventing pneumonia, it also helps to reduce the duration of the illness if a child does become ill.[12]
• Decreasing indoor air pollution (through the use of affordable clean indoor stoves) and improving hand hygiene in crowded homes (through handwashing with soap) can reduce the incidence of pneumonia in children.[12]

References

Toll

• Over 900,000 children die from pneumonia each year. [1]
• Pneumonia is the #1 infectious killer of children under 5 years of age worldwide.[2]
• One child dies from pneumonia every 30 seconds.  That’s more than 2,500 young lives lost every day.[1]

Most children who die of pneumonia live in developing countries

• 98% of children who die of pneumonia live in developing countries.[4], [5]

Pneumonia causes needless suffering and stress on families

• Illness and hospitalization due to pneumonia are preventable sources of suffering and stress, as the disease is preventable with tools like Hib and pneumococcal vaccines, and the integrated collection of steps that can be taken to protect children.
• Each year, there are more than 150 million episodes of pneumonia in young children in developing countries, and more than 11 million children need hospitalization for pneumonia.[6], [7]

Pneumonia contributes to the cycle of poverty

• Pneumonia is an economic burden for families and communities.[8], [9]
• The financial costs of pneumonia include hospital stays and medications, transportation to health centers, and the caretakers’ inability to work or take care of other family members while they are caring for a sick child.[10], [11]
• Families often must take out large loans to pay for care of their seriously ill child, which may further drag them into deep poverty.
• These costs further contribute to the cycle of poverty for many families.

References

Pneumonia is a problem with solutions

More than ever before, we know how to protect children, to prevent them from becoming infected, and to treat infection. Every 30 seconds, pneumonia kills another child. That’s 2,500 child deaths every day, and a staggering 930,000+ million child deaths every year from a preventable, treatable disease.[1] Now is the time to put knowledge into action to deliver these solutions to all children around the world.

Get more details on strategies to fight pneumonia:

Protect | Prevent | Treat

We can protect from pneumonia

• Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life is an important and easy way to help protect children from pneumonia and many other diseases.[2]
• Other strategies, like good nutrition for older children [3], hand-washing [4], and reducing indoor air pollution [5], [6] can also help protect children from pneumonia.

Preventing pneumonia before it occurs is key

• Vaccines are a safe and effective tool for preventing pneumonia before it occurs.
• Vaccines against two of the main causes of life-threatening pneumonia – pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae) and Hib (Haemophilus influenzae b) [7] – are used throughout the developed world.
• However, millions of children in developing countries still lack access to these life-saving vaccines.
• Measles and pertussis (i.e. whooping cough) vaccines can prevent infections that can lead to pneumonia as a complication. [8]

Children should have access to effective and affordable treatment

• Most serious cases of pneumonia can be treated using antibiotics, which typically cost less than one dollar per dose. [9]
• Tragically, only about 1 of every 3 children with pneumonia receives antibiotics. [10]
• Effective “case management” strategies can help to ensure that children receive the right treatment for pneumonia quickly, even in the poorest communities. [11]

References