Pneumonia 3rd killer disease in Iloilo City
An international group with a vision to reduce the risk of childhood death and disability through sustained use of Hib vaccine (Haemophilus influenzae type B) urged the Philippine government to include in its national immunization program the pneumonia vaccination as one of the interventions for the prevention of pneumonia cases which is now one of the top killers of children in Asia.
In Iloilo City, pneumonia is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in the year 2007. It affected 3,540 people and killed 321 individuals.
The burden of the disease is substantially higher among individuals infected with HIV and malaria. This is now the time to start initiating interventions to address the health problem. There is no time to make delays. Globally, there is high cases of mortality related to pneumonia, said Dr. Rana Hajjeh, Project Director of Hib Initiative.
The group is composed of a team of professionals from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, US Center for Disease Control, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and World Health Organization (WHO).
Hib Iniative has a mission to expedite and sustain evidence-informed decisions at the global, regional and country levels regarding the use of Hib vaccination to prevent childhood pneumonia and meningitis.
Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lungs. It can result from a variety of causes including infection with bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites. The typical symptoms associated with pneumonia include cough, chest pain, fever and difficulty in breathing. It is a common illness which occurs in all age groups. The Hib and pneumococcal infections are two leading causes of childhood pneumonia.
In an overseas call made by Dr. Hajjeh to the The News Today, she stressed that Hib Initiative is not pushing for any specific product to make a significant decrease in the childhood pneumonia cases. The WHO made a strong statement in 2006 to all countries to include in its immunization program the pneumonia vaccination. Vaccination is quite effective in reducing the mortality rate. The policymakers have to shepherd the process, said Dr. Hajjeh.
Dr. Hajjeh stressed the importance of the vaccination program in preventing more deaths especially among children. The government must do something and should make certain decisions. There should be preventive case management, vaccination, risk modification, improved nutrition and breastfeeding.
Data from the City Health Office (CHO) last year show that pneumonia is the leading morbidity cases in Iloilo City affecting 3,540 people and ranked number three in mortality cases with 321 deaths.
CHO-Statistician II Mercedes Depra said pneumonia is the third killer disease in the city in 2007. The number one killer disease is vascular disease; second, hypertension; fourth, all types of cancer; fifth, senility; sixth, septicemia; seventh, disease of the lungs; eighth, injuries; ninth, pulmonary tuberculosis; and tenth, kidney disease.
In pneumonia-related deaths, most of the victims are males with 172 and females with 149. In the mortality rate in pneumonia cases, the females are largely infected with the disease registering to 1,784 and males with 1,756.
In the morbidity rate or rate of disease incidence, the upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) ranked second in the 10 diseases; hypertension, third; diarrhea, fourth; vascular disease, fifth; influenza, sixth; pulmonary-tuberculosis, seventh; urinary tract infection (UTI), eighth; cancer, ninth; and dengue, tenth.
In January to March 29, 2008, the pneumonia cases registered to 293 cases. In the first three months of the second quarter of 2008, the case dropped to 36 pneumonia cases based on the records at the City Health Office (CHO).
Data also show that pneumonia affects people of all age levels.