By Elizabeth ADENUGA
Dr Ogbonna Ugwele, a family physician has called for increased advocacy to improve awareness on pneumonia to disprove the common misconceptions about the ailment.
Ugwele said Umuahia on Saturday that most people had wrong information about pneumonia, adding that there was the need to correct it.
He said that he had observed with dismay that a lot of people had wrong information about pneumonia, especially on the mode of transmission.
“People think that pneumonia is caused by the presence of bad air that is trapped in the lungs or that pneumonia can be passed from one person to another through tactile contact.
“There is also another misconception that when one fails to protect one’s body with sweaters or jackets during the cold season, one could come down with pneumonia.
“It is important to know that pneumonia is of infective etymology. It is caused by either bacteria or fungi or virus which triggers the inflammation of the air sacs in the lungs,’’ Ugwele said.
He said that debunking the misconceptions associated with the causes of pneumonia through public enlightenment would yield progress in the efforts made toward tackling pneumonia.
The physician warned against self medication in the treatment of pneumonia as such a disease should not be considered as a “minor illness’’.
Ugwele said that it was pertinent for one to visit the hospital when one begins to have the symptoms of pneumonia, which include fever, cough, and shortness of breath, loss of appetite and chest pain.
According to him, most times people with pneumonia usually develop serious health complications due to late presentation which is caused by lack of funds to access healthcare service from qualified health practitioners.
He called on the relevant agencies to expedite action to facilitate the achievement of universal healthcare coverage in Nigeria, which would greatly address the situation.
Ugwele said that the risk of having pneumonia could be reduced by strengthening one’s immune system through vaccination, good nutrition and hygiene.
According to World Health Organisation (WHO, 99 per cent of pneumonia-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
