Pneumonia: Missing The Signs – Immunise4Life

All too often, parents fail to recognise pneumonia until it’s too late.

Fikri, 5 years old, had chickenpox. He seemed happy and lively enough until he developed high spiking fever and rapid breathing. He started coughing out voluminous amounts of phlegm. He was eventually hospitalised and diagnosed as having pneumonia.

Anusha had measles when she was 2 years old. In addition to the dry cough and runny nose, she started to breathe rapidly and appeared breathless. Her parents thought she had asthma. They were shocked when the doctor diagnosed Anusha with pneumonia, secondary to measles. 

Liyana, 1-year- old, developed an ear infection that she picked up from the daycare center. She developed severe pain and fever, and eventually a terrible cough. When diagnosed, doctors said that the bacteria from the ear had spread to her lungs and caused Liyana to develop pneumonia.

Mei Ling was 6 months old when she contracted pertussis or whooping cough. The non-stop coughing was so severe that she couldn’t even cry. Her coughing spasms improved on her 6^th day in hospital, but she had a high fever and appeared breathless in between the coughing episodes. A chest x-ray confirmed that she had pneumonia.

A case of mistaken identity

Each of these children had started with a different infection. But they all ended up with pneumonia.

This is a serious disease that ranks as one of the leading causes of child death globally. Around the world, it is responsible for the death of a child every 20 seconds¹. In Malaysia, the prevalence of pneumonia among children under 5 years old is between 28% and 39%^4.

Pneumonia is mainly caused by viruses but the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (S.pneumoniae) is the most common bacterial cause^{1, 2}. Your child can also contract pneumonia from further complications of other diseases, which have weakened their immune system.

Unfortunately, it is all too easy for parents and even doctors to miss the early symptoms of this deadly disease and dismiss them as signs of a common cough or cold. This allows the disease to progress unabated.

If detected early, doctors will be able to treat the disease, most commonly with oral antibiotics, without having to resort to drastic and invasive measures. In contrast, pneumonia detected in its later stages will often require intravenous antibiotics and more invasive measures when there is fluid in the chest (empyema). Clearly, paying attention to early pneumonia symptoms in children can help you avoid painful treatments and even death in your child.

Given the insidious and serious nature of pneumonia, it is best to prevent it in the first place. Check out the accompanying info graph for some simple measures that can be taken.

Vaccination is essential in helping to reduce the risk of mortality. So give your child all the vaccinations that can help protect him/her from the different diseases that may lead to pneumonia. Find out more from your healthcare provider.

 

This article is contributed by the Immunise4Life (IFL) programme of the Ministry of Health Malaysia, Malaysian Paediatric Association and Malaysian Society of Infectious Diseases & Chemotherapy, supported by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceutical Sdn Bhd. For further information, please visit www.immunise4life.my

EVERY BREATH COUNTS. STOP PNEUMONIA NOW.   Protect your little ones from pneumonia, the 5th highest cause of death among Malaysian children under 5 years old. What is pneumonia? Inflammation of the lungs caused by virus, bacteria and fungus. Is it serious? Yes. 1 child dies every 20 seconds worldwide due to pneumonia. Take action! ·       Recognise the signs early ·       Get early treatment ·       Immunise to protect Red flags to watch ·       Fever ·       Loss of appetite ·       Coughing up yellow or blood-stained mucus ·       Rapid breathing & blue lips Which children are at risk? ·       Children younger than 5 years ·       Daycare centers & nursery ·       Chronic medical conditions ·       Weakened immune system ·       Not vaccinated Pneumonia prevention tips ·       Exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months ·       Practise good hand and personal hygiene ·       Avoid smoking or burning mosquito coils inside home Protect your child with the following vaccinations ·       Pneumococcal vaccine ·       Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccine ·       Pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine ·       Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine ·       Measles vaccine ·       Influenza (flu) vaccine Watch “Terlepas Pandang”, “If You Only Pneu” and other videos about pneumonia on www.ifl.my

References:

• World Health Organisation (WHO) November 13 2013 Pneumonia Fact Sheet available online (http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs331/en/) Accessed on 3 November 2014
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Pneumonia can be prevented – vaccines can help. Available online (http://www.cdc.gov/features/pneumonia/) Accessed on 3 November 2014
• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Atypical Pathogens and Challenges in Community-Acquired Pneumonia 2014 Available online (http://www.aafp.org/afp/2004/0401/p1699.html) Accessed on 3 November 2014
• Academy of Medicine of Malaysia & Malaysian Paediatric Association Guideline on Pneumonia and Respiratory Tract Infections in Children 2001 Available online (http://www.acadmed.org.my/view_file.cfm?fileid=204) Accessed on 3 November 2014

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