This World Pneumonia Day, experts call for adult and pediatric vaccination against pneumonia

Srinagar: This year on World Pneumonia Day, November 12, experts are stressing on the importance of preventing pneumonia, a serious respiratory infection for adults above 50years and for children under five. Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death amongst children under 5 years of age in the country and poses a life-threatening risk for older people. Hospitalization on account of pneumonia puts a significant economic strain on the family and the country’s health system.

 

 

Dr. Parvaiz Koul, Professor and Head, Department of Internal Medicine and Pulmonary Medicine, SKIMS, Srinagar, said,“Pneumonia should not be allowed to take as many lives as it does, because we now have vaccines that can help protect millions of children and adults from this life-threatening disease.”

The Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria that cause “pneumococcal pneumonia” are responsible for about one third of all pneumonia deaths amongst children, globally and in India. According to a study  published in 2015, there were an estimated 564,200 cases of pneumococcal pneumonia episodes in children under 5 in India and 3,800 in Jammu & Kashmir. Data from our own hospital on about 225 adult patients hospitalized for pneumonia show that Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for about 30.5% cases. Many lives can now be saved from this disease through the administration of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).

Commenting on the need for stronger preventive action in India’s fight against pneumonia, Dr. Koul said, “With the recent inclusion of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) , we hope we can reduce the number deaths from pneumonia in both children under 5 and the elderly.On this World Pneumonia Day, I would like to urge parents to vaccinate their children and any elderly family members against pneumococcal disease.”

CDC recommends Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for all babies and children younger than 2 years old, all adults 65 years or older, and people 2 through 64 years old with certain medical conditions. Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is recommended for all adults 65 years or older, people 2 through 64 years old who are at increased risk for disease due to certain medical conditions like diabetes, HIV, chronic lung ,heart and liver diseases, those with cochlear implants etc, and adults 19 through 64 years old who smoke cigarettes. However, Geriatric  Society of India recommends vaccination of all beyond 50 years of age.

Every year, there are about 440,000 cases of pneumococcal pneumonia amongst adults over 50 years around the world. Unfortunately the vaccination uptake is poor even in high risk groups. We have shown that only 9% of diabetics were vaccinated against pneumococcal disease. ^v These trends are alarming. The high burden of pneumonia in India is, in part, attributed to a still developing health infrastructure. Prevention of pneumonia must become a priority for this age group. While adequate nutrition, good hygiene and avoidance of smoking are good preventive measures, vaccination is critical to reduce the adult mortality and morbidity from pneumonia.