The Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia (GAPP, 2009) aims to accelerate pneumonia control with a combination of interventions to protect, prevent and treat pneumonia in children with actions to:
Young children are at particularly high risk of developing severe pneumonia disease and death. More than 80% of deaths are associated with pneumonia occurs in children during the first 2 years of life. Pneumonia affects children and families everywhere, but most prevalent in the developing World in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Children infected with pneumonia require early diagnosis and treatment. Many cases of pneumonia are vaccine preventable.
Pneumonia is caused by a number of infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria and fungi.
The most common are:
- Streptococcus pneumoniae – the most common cause of bacterial pneumonia in children
- Hib – the second common cause of bacterial pneumonia.
- Pneumococcal disease is the name given to a group of disease caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae. Pneumococcal disease can occur in multiple organ systems, causing pneumonia, meningitis, bacteraemia / sepsis, sinusitis, bronchitis and middle ear infection.