Serious pneumococcal infections are a major global health problem and are vaccine-preventable.
Print this pagePneumonia Deadlier than AIDS
Adeolu Adeyemo
Nigerian Tribune
Aug 18, 2008
A professor of Paediatrics at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, Professor Adegoke Falade, at the weekend said pneumonia was a disease that claimed more children than the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), malaria and measles combined.
He added that over two million children died from pneumonia each year, accounting for one in five deaths among children under five years old worldwide.
The medical expert said the disease was caused by bacteria which could be inhaled. In a paper entitled “The Prevention of Childhood Pneumonia Meningitis,” the medical practitioner added that people were unaware of the deadly nature of the disease, as well as the number of casualties yearly.
“The disease, which is common in children under five years, can, however, be prevented and managed through vaccination, and adequate nutrition,” he said.