When breathing becomes an effort

Colds and flu proliferate and in some cases develop into the much more serious condition known as pneumonia. According to the Disease Control Department’s Epidemiology Bureau, almost 100,000 people were diagnosed with pneumonia between January 1 and August 4, 581 of whom didn’t survive the illness. More than 30 per cent of those infected were aged 65 and older.

Pfizer (Thailand) recently set out to increase awareness about the dangers of pneumonia at a workshop open to all, inviting infectious disease specialist to offer his advice.

Dr Terapong began by pointing out that pneumonia is very similar to influenza, a virus that spreads fast during the rainy season. “We traditionally see the number of pneumonia patients rising between August to October, when the rain is at its heaviest as well as from January to March, when the temperatures fall,” he noted.

“Pneumonia is the inflammation of the lungs or infection of the lower respiratory tract and is mostly caused by bacteria and viruses. It can be fatal in serious cases.”

Dr Terapong explains that flu patients are also at risk of contracting pneumococcus, which is a major cause of pneumonia. “If the germ is very potent, it may lead to other diseases such as meningitis, bacteraemia and middle ear infection as well as Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD). Regardless of sex and age, people can be infected by pneumococcal disease, especially young children, the elderly and those with underlying illnesses,” he said. 

“Pneumococcus causes millions of deaths globally, especially among adults, aged 50 years and older, and children under 5 years of age. These two groups have weak immunity making them more vulnerable to infections. Also at risk are patients with other underlying diseases and chronic illnesses. Pneumococcus can infect the respiratory system through coughing, sneezing and contact with that invisible spray of phlegm from patients. Although infection can be treated using antibiotics, pneumococcus has shown resistance to several antibiotics, resulting in the treatment not as effective as it should be. This can lead to longer treatment periods and increased expenses. 

As with every diseases, prevention is better than cure and members of the public, regardless of age, are encouraged to seek expert advice from a doctor for ways of preventing pneumonia.

Common sense measure include being mindful of hygiene, following a nutritional diet, avoiding crowded places and avoiding coming into contact or sharing utensils with patients and being vaccinated.

Two vaccines effective against pneumococcus are currently available. They are the Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, which can be given to anyone over the age of two but is mainly used with adults, and Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. This is effective against 10 serotypes of pneumococcus is approved for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years. Another type covering 13 pneumococcal serotypes is approved for infants aged from 6 weeks as well as older people. 

“As pneumococcal vaccines are alternative vaccines, the public should seek medical advice to evaluate their cost effectiveness and possible side effects. These include swelling at the injection site, which is usually not serious and goes away in 2-3 days,” Dr Terapong added.