Plight of children battling pneumonia amid doctors’ strike
Susan Wambui holding her bay at Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital in Mombasa. The baby is battling severe pneumonia.
Nation
Media Source: Nation (Kenya)
Date: 3 May 2024
In the last one month, doctors in the Kisuani Sub-county of Kenya have witnessed a surge in cases of diarrhoea with pneumonia-like symptoms, including difficulty in breathing, with several babies admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICU). In the few cases that Dr Hemed Twahir from Aga Khan Hospital Mombasa has treated, he says he…
In the last one month, doctors in the Kisuani Sub-county of Kenya have witnessed a surge in cases of diarrhoea with pneumonia-like symptoms, including difficulty in breathing, with several babies admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICU). In the few cases that Dr Hemed Twahir from Aga Khan Hospital Mombasa has treated, he says he has had to give strong antibiotics because the babies have severe pneumonia. “The way they are presenting with serious symptoms requiring strong antibiotics and admissions to ICU or High Dependency Units is what has been baffling us,” said the pediatrician. He noted that pneumonia is an infection that can either be viral or bacterial. Pneumonia is the single largest infectious cause of death in children worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Pneumonia affects children and families everywhere, but deaths are highest in southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.