Pneumonia threat

As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, health professionals see a spike in cases of pneumonia.

Nov 12 is observed as World Pneumonia Day – an illness that is life threatening for young children and old people in parts of the developing world.
Though authorities in the Ministry of Public Health claim the level of this illness has come down due to vaccinations and access to health services, doctors say a quarter of all Afghan children suffer from pneumonia every year in the winter.
The illness starts with an ordinary cold and flu, and if left untreated it affects the chest and can kill the patient unless treated.
Dr. Nurulhaq Yusufzai, head of Kabul’s Child Health Hospital, says a sick child will have difficulty in breathing because of phlegm in the lungs and bouts of coughing that affects breathing. He advises caregivers to rush the child to the nearest hospital in case of emergency. Also, he says people should air their rooms by opening windows even at the height of winter because the cold virus flourishes in stale air and the heat of human bodies.
Last year the hospital admitted 17,082 patients affected by pneumonia, says the doctor. The disease is the single largest cause of child deaths in the world.
The doctors in Child Health Hospital say the Ministry of Public Health introduced an anti-pneumonia vaccine since two years, and cases have decreased in the areas where immunisation efforts have been successful.
Dr. Yusufzai says the vaccine can be administered to infants at the age of six weeks, 10 weeks or 14 weeks. It is free of charge.
According to Child Health Hospital records, 33 children lost the battle against pneumonia last year. Doctors blame caregivers, poor access to health services and incorrect diagnosis which is the reason for the child’s serious condition when admitted to the hospital.
Zarmina’s six-month-old baby was among the lucky ones. She brought the baby to the Child Health Hospital after doctors in Balkh wrongly diagnosed the persisting cough as symptoms of heart disease. The baby’s condition is improving in the hospital.
Dr. Yusufzai says the hospital receives many patients from provinces like Lugar, Paktia, Parwan, Panjsher and Kapisa.