A New Pneumonia Pocketbook

Advocates and practitioners seeking an all-inclusive guide to pneumonia need look no further than Pneumonia in Children: Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment. This is the first book to address the patient and population, frameworks often covered in separate publications.

Written by two of the world’s foremost experts on pneumonia, Kim Mulholland, MBBS, FRACP, MD, from Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and Martin W. Weber, MD, PhD, from the World Health Organization (WHO), the book is set to become a standard reference on the subject. Chapters explore childhood pneumonia, its prevention, treatment and public health control.

“We expect that this book will fill an important gap in the field, covering all aspects of childhood pneumonia, with a particular emphasis on developing countries where the burden is greatest,” says Mulholland.

Child health advocates would be particularly interested in the chapter on equity, an issue that makes their work all the more necessary. “Indeed, the notable lack of interest in the problem prior to the 20^th century may be due to the fact that, in contrast to conditions like scarlet fever or smallpox, pneumonia seemed to be a disease of poor children,” the authors write. Today, the poorest of the world still suffer the most from pneumonia, which continues to have a low profile in the international community compared to other diseases.

The authors comprehensively outline the epidemiology and etiology of pneumonia and its risk factors, which include poverty, malnutrition and environmental influences. They discuss current clinical guidelines as promoted by WHO, the role of the new vaccines in pneumonia prevention, best treatment and essential drugs.

Expertly written for all those interested in public health approaches to pneumonia, the book highlights the shortcomings of pneumonia control and how current approaches struggle to reach the most vulnerable populations, suggesting ways to remedy this situation.

“The neglected ‘drug’ for pneumonia management is oxygen. Making oxygen more widely available and using it appropriately will contribute to an effective global plan for pneumonia and in child survival initiatives,” says Weber.

The book is co-produced by Teaching-aids At Low Cost (TALC), a unique charity that aims to promote health and medical knowledge throughout the world by supplying low-cost health textbooks and teaching materials to health workers in developing countries. Purchase the book online at the following links:

• TALC
• AMAZON
• PINTER AND MARTIN

Kim Mulholland, MBBS, FRACP, MD, is an Australian pediatrician trained at the Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne. As one of the world’s most prolific childhood pneumonia researchers, he has spent much of his career studying in low-income countries, particularly Sudan and Gambia, and more recently in Fiji and Vietnam. Mulholland was one of the original contributors to the development of the integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD). He is currently Professor of Child Health and Vaccinology at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and holds professorial posts at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne, and Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin.

Martin Weber, MD, PhD, DTM&H, is a pediatrician. He worked as a research clinician in the Medical Research Council Laboratories in The Gambia from 1992 to 1998, where he undertook research into pneumonia etiology, diagnosis and management, particularly into oxygen delivery, newborn infections, RSV and the vaccine trials against Hib and the pneumococcus. Since 1998, he has worked for WHO, where he was one of the initiators of GAPPD. Weber currently serves as the Program Manager for Child and Adolescent Health in the WHO Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen.