Pneumonia: a vaccine-preventable disease
Arequipa region reports 261 deaths from pneumonia
Pneumococcus is a type of bacteria that can cause serious infections such as pneumonia (infection of the lungs), meningitis (infection of the membranes surrounding the brain), bacteremia (infection of the bloodstream), and other less serious but common infections such as sinusitis and Otitis media.
This bacterium is the second cause of community pneumonia requiring hospitalization. Although pneumococcal infection is a vaccine-preventable disease, 81% of deaths are caused by pneumonia. It is spread through contact with someone who is sick when coughing or sneezing.
According to information from the National Center for Epidemiology, Prevention and Disease Control of the Ministry of Health, pneumonia caused 72,625 cases and 3,005 deaths across all age groups in the country during 2022. So far in 2023, 66,549 incidents and 1,979 deaths have been recorded.
Pediatrician Ana Vela Rondón recommends vaccinating children and the elderly. “One of the ways to protect children under 5 years of age is to have a complete vaccination card, as it contains the pneumococcal vaccine,” he said.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends vaccination with the thirteen-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, which protects against 13 of the more than 100 existing serotypes.
Pneumococcal vaccine is free, safe and high quality. The vaccine is available at 8,000 health facilities in the country and is suitable for high-risk groups, girls and boys under 5 years old in 3 doses (2, 4 and 12 months), adults over 60 years old (single dose) and people with heart disease Patients with comorbidities such as vascular disease. Problems, asthma, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc.
Awareness must be raised about the importance of timely vaccination for prevention. Therefore, it is necessary for parents to vaccinate their children and the elderly to prevent respiratory diseases that may lead to pneumonia.
Vaccines save millions of lives every year
