World Pneumonia Day is observed every year on November 12. This day is dedicated to spread awareness and the need to stand together and demand action in the fight against this disease.
Pneumonia is the world’s biggest infectious killer of children and adults. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the rate of severity is more in children less than 5 years of age. Therefore, precautions need to be taken to prevent the disease at an early stage.
We observe this day to understand the problems of climate and air pollution and to raise awareness through campaigns and provide aid to fight against the disease.
Symptoms of Pneumonia
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Nausea or vomiting
- Weakness
- Muscle pain
- Diarrhoea
- Fast breathing and shortness of breath
- Fever, sweating, and chills.
- Pain in the chest during breathing or coughing
- Cases of some kind of confusion have also been seen in older adults
Causes and Spread
Pneumonia is contagious and can through coughing or sneezing. It can also be spread through fluids, like blood during childbirth, or from contaminated surfaces. Infectious agents may include bacteria, viruses and fungi.
World Pneumonia Day: History
The Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia observed the first World Pneumonia Day in 2009. The aim was to bring the facts of the severity of pneumonia to public knowledge and to bring global attention to the neglected condition of pneumonia.
The year in which the first World Pneumonia Day was observed, it was killing approximately 1.2 million children each year. WHO and UNICEF in 2013 released an ‘Integrated Global Action Plan’ for the ‘Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea’. The International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC) released first pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report in 2013 and the rapidly growing Pneumonia Innovations Network hosted the Pneumonia Innovations Summit in 2015. The disease affected 2.5 million people across the globe, including 672,000 children in 2019.
World Pneumonia Day: Significance
World Pneumonia Day raises awareness about the disease and its harmful effects. In 2013, WHO launched a campaign to end the deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhoea which is another killer disease for children by 2026 called the integrated Global Action Plan for pneumonia and diarrhoea (GAPPD). As per UNICEF, proper immunization can prevent pneumonia and low-cost antibiotics can treat the disease that is diagnosed properly.
Pneumonia: Treatment and Vaccination
Pneumonia needlessly affects millions of people worldwide each year. No doubt it is preventable and timely vaccination also reduces the possibility of causing disease. Vaccines provide immunisation against pneumonia. The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) and the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPSV23) protect against pneumococcal infections.
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