Identifying Etiological Agent for Childhood Pneumonia: An Ongoing Need

Excerpt

Acute lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in infants is a broad classification which includes a variety of clinical diseases including pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and wheeze associated with viral respiratory tract infection. Pneumonia contributes to 22% of deaths in under 5 y children in Southeast Asia region [1]. Identification of etiological agent for ALRTI is desirable to differentiate bacterial vs. viral illnesses, to define the need and choice of antibiotics or antiviral agents, and other supportive care as per the infectious agent. Knowledge of etiological agents is also important for public health interventions like type of vaccine (e.g., influenza, pneumococcus vaccine) needed, personal prophylactic measures etc. As etiological agents are likely to change from place to place and over time, studies on prevalence of various etiological agents in specific area is an ongoing need. …