Pneumonia is the leading infectious killer of children under the age of five
Name
Pneumonia
Transmission
- Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs
- It is a common complication of respiratory infections especially the flu
- Our lungs have small sacs called alveoli which fill up with air when we breathe
- With pneumonia, the sacs become filled with pus and fluid, making breathing painful and limiting the body’s ability to take in oxygen
- It can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or fungi and it spreads in several ways:
- The viruses and bacteria that cause it can infect the lungs when they are inhaled from the environment
- It can spread from person to person via air-borne droplets from an infected person’s cough or sneeze
- It may also spread through an infected person’s blood
Geography
Worldwide (most prevalent in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa)
Incubation Period
1 – 3 days depending on the cause
Signs and Symptoms
Common symptoms:
- Cough
- Fever
- Difficulty breathing
- Fast breathing
- Mucus
- Shaking chills
- Sharp chest pain
- Pain when breathing or coughing
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue
- Confusion (especially in older people)
In infants, symptoms may include:
- Not eating or drinking
- Unconsciousness
- Hypothermia
- Convulsions
- Vomiting
The symptoms of viral and bacterial pneumonia are similar, but can vary slightly:
- Bacterial:
- High fever
- Profuse sweating
- Rapidly increased breathing
- Rapid pulse
- Confusion and delirium
- Blue lips or nailbeds
- Viral:
- Wheezing
- Dry cough
- Headache
- Muscle pain
- Weakness
- Blue lips
Diagnosis
- Doctors cannot always identify the cause of pneumonia
- Common diagnostic methods include chest examination, blood tests, testing a sample of lung fluid (sputum)
Treatment
- Treatment depends on the type and severity of the infection
- If the cause is bacteria, it can be treated with antibiotics
- Cough medicine, pain relievers, and fever reducers are also used to treat symptoms
Prognosis
- Recovery time can vary greatly based on age and health condition, but most people fully recover within 3 months
- In the elderly or people with other lung problems, recovery may take more than 12 weeks
- If the infection leads to hospitalization, mortality may be as high as 10%, and if intensive care is required it may reach 30–50% (pneumonia is the most common hospital-acquired infection that leads to death)
- Even with treatment some people may experience complications including respiratory failure, blood poisoning, collapsed lung, and kidney complications
Prevention: What Can You Do?
- Wash your hands regularly
- Clean surfaces that many people touch often
- Be careful to cough or sneeze into a tissue or into your sleeve to prevent the bacteria/virus from spreading
- Avoid smoking or inhaling smoke
- Get vaccinated for Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), pneumococcus, measles and whooping cough (pertussis)
Pneumonia In the News
- Tough action on pneumonia and diarrhoea can save more than one million lives annually
- World Pneumonia Day: Progress But Also 5 Troubling Trends
Sources:
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs331/en/
http://www.cdc.gov/pneumonia/index.html