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#IDFridays Week 39: Pneumonia

Home #IDFridays #IDFridays Week 39: Pneumonia

#IDFridays18/11/2016drasa_admin

Pneumonia is the leading infectious killer of children under the age of five

Photo Credits: Africa Medicare, Daily Health Post

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

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About Us

DRASA Health Trust is a public health organization working with government, local and international partners, community leaders, students, and health workers to promote adequate sanitation and hygiene, reduce and prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and strengthen Nigeria’s health security and emergency preparedness.

DRASA was established in memory of the late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh who identified and contained Nigeria's first Ebola patient, preventing a major outbreak, but lost her life in the process.

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