Fighting pneumonia through vaccination

By Izah Morales INQUIRER.net EVERY year, three million people die of pneumonia. Of that number, 29 percent are children under the age of five, according to the University of the Philippines Manila-National Institute of Health (UPM-NIH). In 2004, pneumonia ranked third in the 10 leading causes of infant deaths based on the 2004 Philippine Health Statistics. With that, UPM-NIH and the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination have unveiled the “Strike Out Pneumonia” campaign which aims to reduce cases of deaths due to pneumonia. “I hope that the public will know that there are ways that they can do to avoid getting sick and to prevent illnesses. Aside from good nutrition, breastfeeding and battling pollution, the most effective way of fighting pneumonia is vaccination. Vaccination is the first step to getting protection,” said UPM Vice Chancellor for Research Dr. Lulu Bravo. While vaccination for measles is available through the Expanded Program for Immunization (EPI), the Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib) and the Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, which are also effective in preventing pneumonia, are not included in the government EPI. “The problem is the lack of resources in government to include the two more vaccines in the national immunization program. What we need to know is how we can get funding for vaccines from agencies like GAVI [Global Alliance for Vaccination Initiatives)],” explained Bravo. About a hundred people attended the Strike Out Pneumonia campaign and vaccination program. Among the attendees was Aileen Napoles, mother of four kids who believes getting complete vaccination equals a healthy life. “Vaccines given to a child should be recorded because prevention is better than cure. And cure is more expensive,” added Gel Dagatan, mother of five children. Pneumonia is a serious infection that affects the air sacs in the lungs, resulting to significant reduction in oxygenation. It is caused by bacteria and organisms, such as Hib, streptococcus pneumoniae and measles. Symptoms of pneumonia include high fever, rapid or difficulty of breathing, cough, chills, headaches, loss of appetite and wheezing. Among infants, the common symptoms are convulsion, unconsciousness and feeding problems.