Pneumonia most searched disease online; causes 17% of child deaths in India

Hyderabad: Pneumonia is an acute respiratory infection in which the presence of harmful viruses or bacteria causes air sacs in the lungs to fill with fluid or pus. The condition can be fatal, as pneumonia among children is the single largest cause of death by an infectious disease among children.

Not surprisingly, pneumonia is the most Googled illness, as per a year-long study done between July 2023 and June 2024 by Compare the Market, an Australia-based platform.

India accounts for 20% of pneumonia deaths globally

Pneumonia continues to be a major cause of morbidity among children in India, though the occurrences and deaths have decreased since 2000.

Despite the reduction, India accounts for 20 per cent of pneumonia deaths among children worldwide. South Asia too has a high incidence of pneumonia, with 0.36 ill health episodes per child per year under the age of five.

What are the causes of pneumonia?

Undernutrition, a lack of adequate breastfeeding, being underweight at birth and indoor pollution are considered primary causes of pneumonia. Children below five years and people above 60 years are at high risk due to complications from pneumonia.

Most searched in a year

More people nowadays are finding themselves inclined to search online using their symptoms to self-diagnose ill health. Search engines, primarily Google, are most sought after across the globe, with around one billion health-related searches per year, amounting to 70,000 searches per minute.

John McCay, spokesperson of Compare the Market, Australia said, “The data was sourced for a year from July 16, 2023. The result was based on Google search volume in that time frame, but we included statistics on global fatalities. The monthly search volume for pneumonia was 1,963,700 searches, followed by Covid-19 (1,491,100) and meningitis (1,149,590) across 28 countries including India, the USA, the UK, Canada and Germany among other nations.

More than 4.73 lakh cases in India

During 2022-23, 4,73,780 cases of pneumonia were reported across India, as per the Health Management Information System (HMIS).

The data was mentioned as part of a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. Uttar Pradesh (92,887), Rajasthan (82,091) and Madhya Pradesh (39,948) occupy the top three places with the most cases, with 11,497 infants (1 to 12 months) losing their lives and 4,571 child deaths (1 to 5 years).

Children and the elderly are prone to infections

Pneumonia can affect any age group, but children below the age of five and elderly people above 60 years are prone to infections.

“The infection is broadly classified as community-acquired pneumonia and hospital-acquired pneumonia. With around 60 per cent of cases requiring only outpatient treatment, the remaining require admission. From the community, any age group can be infected with flu or viruses. This can be complicated with secondary bacterial infection,” Dr DS Sowjanya, consultant pulmonologist, Kamineni Hospitals, LB Nagar said.

Depending on the immunity levels of the infected individuals, those with more stable levels of immunity recover with OP-based treatment.

“Mostly 60 to 80 per cent recover while the remaining, with risk factors including hypertension, diabetes and long-term steroid intake and chemotherapy. The lower or upper respiratory tract infection can be complicated with the consolidation of pneumonia,” Dr Sowjanya added.

Complications can require ventilator and ECMO support

The worsening respiratory rate of oxygenation can force individuals to seek admission at hospitals.

Besides mechanical ventilator support, some patients with worse lung conditions may even require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support, depending on their immunity, age group and the presence of comorbidities.

“Few patients require mechanical ventilation, while few people may even require ECMO support, during which their heart and lungs are put to rest. In some cases, people from remote areas, due to lack of awareness, bring patients to the hospital where the vitals could be unstable and recovery becomes a massive challenge,” Dr Sowjanya added.

The lower nutrition levels in children below five years together with delayed identification of the problem and presentation could lead to a multi-organ failure and fatalities.

The possibility of transmissibility is high in crowded places, including tourist destinations, pilgrimages or places with more footfall. Low pressure during aeroplane travel can reduce oxygen levels in the individual’s lungs.

“When visiting crowded places where people visit, it is better to take precautions including wearing masks. This can protect from other viruses.