Clinics in Mother and Child Health

Factors Associated with Pneumonia among Children

John Ming^* and Robert Sammy Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Joseph Medical Center, Stockton, California, USA
^*Correspondence: John Ming, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, St. Joseph Medical Center, Stockton, California, USA, Email:

Received: 04-Apr-2022, Manuscript No. CMCH-22-16907; Editor assigned: 07-Apr-2022, Pre QC No. CMCH-22-16907(PQ); Reviewed: 25-Apr-2022, QC No. CMCH-22-16907; Revised: 02-May-2022, Manuscript No. CMCH-22-16907(R); Published: 09-May-2022, DOI: 10.35248/2090-7214.22.19.412

Description

Pneumonia is a lung infection that occurs suddenly. When a lung becomes infected, the alveoli get clogged with pus and fluid, making breathing difficult and limiting oxygen intake. Pneumonia is one of the main causes of death in children under the age of five, with 2,500 children dying every day. Pneumonia is responsible for 16% of all deaths in children under the age of five. The majority of the victims were children under the age of two.

Pneumonia is caused by a variety of infection-causing microbes such as viruses, bacteria, and fungus. Streptococcus and the syncytial virus were the most common causal agents causing bacterial and viral pneumonia in children, respectively.

Malnutrition, low birth weight, non-exclusive breastfeeding, homes with parental smoking, vitamin A deficiency, zinc deficiency, mother's experience as a caregiver, pre-existing illnesses, such as symptomatic HIV infections and measles, rainfall, high altitude, indoor air pollution caused by cooking and heating with biomass fuels, living in crowded homes, keeping cattle inside the main house, and age of child and womb have all been identified as contributing factors to pneumonia.

The symptoms of bacterial and viral pneumonia are nearly identical. Symptoms of viral pneumonia, on the other hand, are numerous. In viral infections, wheezing is more common. Infants that are really unwell may be unable to eat or drink, as well as experience unconsciousness, hypothermia, and convulsions.

In children aged 2–59 months, the presence of cough, difficult breathing, quick breathing, and/or chest in a drawing for a given age helps to classify probable pneumonia. Any kid between the ages of 2 and 59 months who exhibits one or more of the following warning signs is suspected of developing serious pneumonia. Inabilities to drink, continuous vomiting, seizures, lethargy or unconsciousness, stridor in a peaceful child, or severe malnutrition are all signs of severe malnutrition. According to this study, carrying a child on the mother's back while cooking increases the risk of pneumonia in the youngster by 12 times This is owing to the fact that increased indoor air pollution caused by fuel use can have a negative impact on the respiratory tract's specific and non-specific host defences against infections.

More importantly, despite the fact that under-five pneumonia was one of the top ten diseases in children, no previous scientific studies to determine the prevalence and determinants of pneumonia among 2-59 month old children. In this study area, there were no previous scientific studies to determine the prevalence and determinants of pneumonia among 2-59 month old children.

The current investigation discovered a rather high frequency of pneumonia in children aged 2 to 59 months. The study also discovered that the child's sex, the child's care on the mother's back during food preparation, the house's ventilation, and a history of upper respiratory tract infection in the previous two weeks were all independent variables that could predict underfive pneumonia. This study aims to fill in the gaps in knowledge by assessing the prevalence of pneumonia in children aged 2 to 59 months and its related factors in this district, as well as updating prior knowledge on the same issue.