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IT'S NOT JUST A COLD
Awareness about a pneumonia can save your child's life
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Every year, it kills over 2 million children below 5-year-old-more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. In the Asia Pacific region alone, it infects 98 children every hour.
It's pneumonia-touted by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund as the "forgotten killer." Misconceptions lead the public to assume that pneumonia is no more threatening than an advanced case of cough and colds.
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Pneumonia is an inflammatory illness of the lung. It can be caused by an infection by bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites or by chemical or physical injury to the lungs.
The chief bacterial cause of pneumonia is the streptococcus pneumoniae.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the bacterial agent of a cluster of diseases known as IPD or Invasive Pneumococal Diseases (IPD), which includes pneumonia. "Being the leading cause of pneumonia deaths in children, a reduction in the incidence of pneumococcal disease would most likely result in improvement of child survival," notes Dr. Lulu Bravo, Co-Convenor and Executive Director of the National Institutes of Health.
Currently, there are only 2 vaccines available against IPD-the 23-valent unconjugated polysaccharide vaccine and the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7). The latter is scientifically proven to be 50-80 percent effective against invasive pneumococcal diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. PCV-7 is also the only commercially available vaccine licensed for under-five children-the very age group that's most susceptible to IPD infections.
Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, 7-valent (PCV-7) is indicated for active immunization of children from 6-week-old to 9-year-old against invasive diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
For more information, schedule a visit with your pediatrician.
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DISCLAIMER:
Information on this
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general educational and
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This information is not
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