Know These 10 Facts About The Pneumonia Disease

Dr. Gautam Wankhede, Director of Medical Affairs of Mylab Discovery Solutions shares a few facts you should know 10 facts about the Pneumonia disease:

10 Facts About The Pneumonia Disease

• • Pneumonia can be caused by a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in the air we breathe. The infection causes inflammation in the air sacs of the lungs which leads to cough with phlegm or pus, fever, chills, and trouble breathing.

• • Both viral and bacterial pneumonia is contagious.

• • Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the most common type of pneumonia. CAP is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in India and worldwide and one of the most serious respiratory illnesses among various infections causing sepsis.

• • Typical bacterial pathogens that cause CAP include Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza, and Moraxella catarrhalis.

• • An important factor in the management of pneumonia is the early diagnosis of the causative pathogen based on which appropriate anti-bacterial, anti-viral, or anti-fungal treatment can be started soon.

• • Appropriate medical history and physical examination are important parts of making a pneumonia diagnosis.

• • Most pneumonia cases are diagnosed with a chest X-ray, blood culture test, and a CT scan of the chest in some cases. Bronchoscopy is advised in a few cases if the initial symptoms are severe or not responding well to antibiotics.

• • Microbiological tests are not completely reliable in identifying the cause of pneumonia, and in 40-70% of pneumonia cases, the cause is never determined.

• • Molecular tests like RT PCR identify a specific pathogen and help to distinguish between bacterial and viral infection and some newer molecular tests also provide information about antibiotic susceptibility. The new age RT-PCR-based molecular diagnostic kits look for the presence of 15-30 different pneumonia-causing pathogens at the same time and provide answers within 2-3 hours unlike the traditional culture methods which take 3-5 days.

• • In most casespneumonia can be prevented by improving hygiene, vaccinations, and adequate nutritionpneumonia and by addressing environmental factors such as air pollution. When it comes to preventing pneumonia disease in children, immunization against HIB, pneumococcus, measles, and whooping cough (pertussis) is very effective besides the factors mentioned above.

This World Pneumonia Day celebrated annually on November 12, let’s raise awareness of the importance of diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of pneumonia disease.

(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this story has not been edited and is published from a syndicated feed.)