What to know about pneumonia in children

Contrary to a popular belief, medical experts say pneumonia in children and adults is not caused by cold. Rafat a mother of three recalls people around her telling her to cover her children properly (particularly when they were infants) to protect them from ‘catching pneumonia.’

She said when her friend’s child suffered from pneumonia, the woman was blamed for exposing the child to too much cold.

An estimated 1.5 million cases of pneumonia are recorded in Nigeria a year, according to a 2017 report from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The report also revealed that people aged less than five years, and over 65 years are those most at risk of contracting the disease.

According to a consultant paediatric cardiologist, Dr Habibat Suberu, pneumonia is the commonest cause of death in children less than five years in Nigeria.

She said pneumonia is not caused by cold or not covering children properly but rather by exposure to organisms transmitted via air-borne/ droplets from coughing or sneezing, and contact with infected secretions from the nose or throat etc.

Dr Habibat said that pneumonia is caused by infections which can be bacterial, viral or fungal.

“It can be caused malnutrition, an overcrowded environment, and that exposure to smoke increases the risk of having pneumonia. In addition, children with a background heart condition have an increased risk of pneumonia.”

She said the immune status of the individual is what determines infection.

She said the myth of cold causing the disease most likely stems from the fact that individuals spend more time indoors, and are crowded during the cold months which made it easier for the pneumonia-causing organism to spread from person to person.

She said, “Pneumonia is inflammation of the lung tissues largely caused by infections. The lung is the apparatus for gas exchange in the body and therefore making oxygen available for the body tissues to use.

“When a child is diagnosed with pneumonia, it might be severe enough to prevent the child from getting adequate oxygen into the body.”

The consultant paediatric cardiologist, said the symptoms of the disease include: