EVERY year, more than 700,000 children die from complications related to pneumococcal disease.
Pneumococcal disease refers to a group of illnesses that includes pneumonia (lung infection), meningitis (infection of the brain covering) and bacteremia (blood infection).
Despite being such a serious concern, Associate Professor Daniel Goh, president of the Singapore Paediatric Society, says less than 20 per cent of parents in Asia are aware of this disease, says a report in the February issue of Reader's Digest.
Pneumococcal disease is caused by a bug that lives in the nose or throat, and enters the blood stream to cause several types of severe invasive pneumococcal disease. The World Health Organization warns that there is a serious and rapidly growing problem worldwide of strains becoming multidrug-resistant.
Experts estimate that 10 per cent of adults and up to 90 per cent of children carry the germs harmlessly in their respiratory tract. But during an outbreak, for reasons scientists cannot fully explain, the disease is spread from both healthy carriers and patients to other people.
Although pneumococcal infections occur throughout life, young children and the elderly are most at risk. And of the children diagnosed with pneumococcal disease here each year, as many as 25 per cent may develop complications or suffer some permanent disability, and up to six per cent may die.
The symptoms of pneumococcal disease vary by illness but almost always involve fever and often resemble the flu.
Although less vulnerable to the disease, teens and adults can be affected if they have lowered immunity or chronic respiratory problems.
The risk of pneumococcal disease is also higher among people who live in crowded conditions, like housing estates, and in areas with poor hygiene.
