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Every year, the lack of access to water, sanitation, food and medical care condemns millions of young patients to death. According to global analyzes, 2030 million children under the age of 56 will die by 5 without immediate action, half of which are newborns.
- Among the diseases that are a deadly threat to children, there are, among others, pneumonia, diarrhea or HIV
- Malaria is also a big threat, killing almost 500 people annually. kids
- You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page
Pneumonia
Before the invention of antibiotics, it was a fatal disease, today it is still dangerous. According to statistics, more than 800 children up to the age of five die every year in the world due to pneumonia, which is 15 percent. all deaths in this age group.
In newborns, inflammation of the lung parenchyma is most often caused by an infection with mother-born bacteria (a so-called vertical infection, which occurs when the baby passes through the birth canal during birth). In children from 3 weeks of age to 3 months of age, the following bacteria are responsible for pneumonia: Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Bordetella pertussis, Chlamydia trachomatis. In contrast, viral pneumonia dominates in children aged 4 months to 5 years.
- The five most dangerous diseases in children. It is because of them that they most often die
Diarrhea
It kills on average about 2,2 thousand. children a day – more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. It is harvested the most in third world countries with poor sanitation. The most common cause of diarrhea is drinking contaminated water and not following basic hygiene rules.
From a medical point of view, diarrhea is not a disease, but a symptom of intoxication in the body, consisting of an increased frequency of bowel movements and a change in the consistency of the stool from solid to liquid or semi-liquid. It is often accompanied by weakness, abdominal pain and cramps, and fever.
Malaria
Malaria, also sometimes called malaria or fever, is a disease caused by plasmodium, single-celled protozoa transmitted by mosquitoes. Of all the parasitic diseases, malaria is responsible for the most deaths in the world: approximately 1 to 3 million people die each year.
Young children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the severe course of the disease, leading to damage to numerous internal organs and serious metabolic disorders. Although the number of child deaths from the disease has decreased by 2000% since 40, malaria still kills more than 456 per year. kids.
Meningitis
Meningitis is a very dangerous infectious disease caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Microorganisms can enter the body through various routes: droplets, food or indirect. However, it also happens that meningitis is a complication of otitis, sinusitis or inflammation in the mouth. Due to the not fully developed immune system, children are the most vulnerable to infection, especially children under the age of 2.
The symptoms of meningitis in such little ones can be difficult to recognize: fever, lethargy, drowsiness, irritability, lack of appetite, and bulging fontanelles. Sometimes a red rash is visible on the skin. The complications of the disease in children include: epileptic seizures, sleep disorders, problems with aggression and controlling anger.
HIV
There are approximately 2,5 million HIV-infected children in the world, and there are approximately 300 new infections each year. Babies become infected mainly from their mothers – through vertical transmission – during childbirth, pregnancy or breastfeeding. HIV develops faster in infants, and without treatment, 000/1 of them die of AIDS before they are one year old.
The risk of viral transmission from the mother can be effectively reduced to 1% if tests are used in future mothers and pregnant women, if an infected woman is treated effectively during pregnancy, labor is carried out correctly, the child is fed artificially and receives antiretroviral prophylaxis in the neonatal period. The World Health Organization recommends that all children diagnosed with HIV start antiretroviral therapy regardless of symptoms or CD4 levels.
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Oder
In the old days, measles outbreaks occurred every two to three years. Nowadays, the infectious disease caused by RNA-viruses takes the biggest toll in African and Asian countries, where only half of the children are vaccinated. It is characterized by high infectivity – a record number of infected from one patient is 200 people. The first symptoms are: high fever, runny nose, dry, tiring cough, conjunctivitis, photophobia and pharyngitis.
A child with measles looks like a face that has been crying for a long time. Approximately 3 to 4 years later, a measles-specific rash appears. Initially behind the ears, on the face and neck, gradually taking down the rest of the body. The complications of the disease can be very serious: pneumonia, bronchitis, meningitis and encephalitis.
A distant complication of measles is subacute sclerosing encephalitis, which is an incurable disease. It occurs several or several years after contracting measles. More common in people who have had measles before the age of 2.
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Malnutrition
Hunger is a worldwide problem. Every year, malnutrition causes the death of 5 million 600 thousand children. It is estimated that 27 percent. children under 5 in developing countries are malnourished, 10% children under 5 in developing countries suffer from hunger. In infants, malnutrition for several days, especially fluid deficiency, is already life-threatening. In slightly older children, prolonged malnutrition first leads to apathy. The child becomes lethargic and deprived of strength – hallucinations, convulsions, convulsions, and heart problems may appear. The next stage is kwashiorkor (a type of malnutrition of the body) which manifests as swelling caused by a reduction in the level of proteins in the blood. Swelling of the face, abdomen, legs, or other parts of the body causes the skin to crack and form sores. The disease disrupts the functioning of the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. In addition, muscle mass and adipose tissue are lost. Diarrhea is frequent, usually fatal.
Read also:
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- The five most common cancers in children
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