TRIBUNJOGJA.COM – The number of positive cases infected with Covid-19 continues to increase in Indonesia and in the world, including in children.
Along with these conditions, the expert reminded that the public must continue to be aware of various other deadly diseases, one of which is pneumonia.
Moreover, pneumonia is the second leading cause of under-five mortality in Indonesia after preterm delivery with a prevalence of around 15.5 percent.
In 2019, there were approximately 467,383 cases of pneumonia in children under five.
In fact, according to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017, there were 25,481 under-five deaths due to acute respiratory infections and this puts Indonesia in 7th place in the world with the highest pneumonia burden.
The 25,481 under-five mortality rate shows that 17 percent of all world’s under-five deaths due to pneumonia are in Indonesia.
Recognizing the symptoms of pneumonia in children
Head of the Indonesian Pediatrician Association’s Respirology Coordination Unit, Dr. dr. Nastiti Kaswandani SpA (K), said that what often causes pneumonia in children under five and leads to death is because the symptoms are similar to other diseases.
“Pneumonia is often realized too late, because its initial symptoms are difficult to distinguish from other minor respiratory diseases such as colds and colds,” said Nastiti in an online discussion entitled Save the Children: Recognize and Prevent. Pneumonia in Children “the Forgotten Killer”, Thursday (5/11/2020).
As a result, he said, a lot children people with pneumonia are not getting the care they deserve and it has a fatal impact on their health.
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