Cost-Effective Measures Could Stop Child Pneumonia DeathsJune 02, 2009Implementing measures to improve nutrition, indoor air pollution, immunization coverage and the management of pneumonia cases could be cost-effective and significantly reduce child mortality from pneumonia, according to a study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers found that these strategies combined could reduce total child mortality by 17 percent and could reduce pneumonia deaths by more than 90 percent. Pneumonia is a leading cause of death of infants in many developing countries, resulting in 2.2 million deaths each year. The study is published in the June 2009 issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. The study, conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other public health schools, assessed economic aspects of existing child interventions and identified the most efficient pneumonia control strategies. Programs to promote better community-based treatment of pneumonia, promotion of exclusive breastfeeding, zinc supplementation and vaccination for Hib and S. pneumoniae were found to be the most cost-effective interventions. The burning of solid fuels like wood, for cooking and heating, was found to contribute at least 20 percent to the burden of childhood pneumonia. "The interventions we examined already exist, but are not fully implemented in the developing world. In addition, implementation of these interventions do not require a great deal of new infrastructure to carry out," said Louis Niessen, MD, PhD, lead author of the study and associate professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of International Health. "Fully funding and implementing these interventions could bring us a big step closer towards reaching the U.N. Millennium Development Goals." "The next step is to assess how donors and countries currently deliver these interventions and want to progress in the coming years," said Majid Ezzati, PhD, co-investigator of the study and associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. "Comparative impact assessment of child pneumonia interventions" was written by Louis Niessen, Anne ten Hove, Henk Hilderink, Martin Weber, Kim Mulholland and Majid Ezzati. The research was supported by grants from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, the WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund. Johns Hopkins University |
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| Related Pneumonia Current Events and Pneumonia News Articles Henry Ford Hospital study: A MRSA strain linked to high death rates A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. Commentary warns of unexpected consequences of proton pump inhibitor use in reflux disease Despite being highly effective and beneficial for many patients, unexpected consequences are emerging in patients who are prescribed proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for reflux diseases. Scientists discover influenza's Achilles heel: Antioxidants As the nation copes with a shortage of vaccines for H1N1 influenza, a team of Alabama researchers have raised hopes that they have found an Achilles' heel for all strains of the flu-antioxidants. Lessons from flu seasons past Pregnant women who catch the flu are at serious risk for flu-related complications, including death, and that risk far outweighs the risk of possible side effects from injectable vaccines containing killed virus, according to an extensive review of published research and data from previous flu seasons. Older Patients with Dementia at Increased Risk for Flu Mortality An epidemiological study on pneumonia and influenza (P&I) in adults age 65 and over reports that patients with dementia are diagnosed with flu less frequently, have shorter hospital stays, and have a fifty percent higher rate of death than those without dementia. OMRF scientists discover promising new path for treating traumas A discovery by scientists at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation could help save lives threatened by traumatic injuries like those sustained in car crashes or on the battlefield. The work also holds potential for treating severe infectious diseases and diabetes. Scientists create NICE solution to pneumonia vaccine testing problems Medical clinics the world over could benefit from new software* created at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where a team of scientists has found a way to improve the efficiency of a pneumonia vaccine testing method developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Review: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines effective at preventing child deaths A study published in The Cochrane Review this month concludes that pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV), already known to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and x-ray defined pneumonia, was also effective against child deaths. Dying from dementia A growing number of older adults are dying from dementia. In an editorial in the October 15, 2009 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Greg Sachs, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Division of General Internal Medicine and Geriatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a Regenstrief Institute investigator, notes that end-of-life care for most older adults with dementia has not changed in decades and urges that these individuals be provided far greater access to palliative care, the management of pain and other symptoms. Lessons learned from H1N1 virus pandemic A comprehensive study has revealed, for the first time, the impact of swine flu on the health of the general public in Australia and New Zealand. More Pneumonia Current Events and Pneumonia News Articles |
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