Innovation – better pneumonia diagnostics Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children worldwide, killing an estimated 1.2 million children under 5 each year. These deaths are mostly preventable. Vaccinating against haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcus, measles and whooping cough (pertussis) is the most effective way to prevent pneumonia, and antibiotics in the right formulations can treat the disease, while diagnostic tools help with early detection. Without x-ray machines and laboratory tests, accurate diagnosis of pneumonia can be difficult in rural health clinics and other resource limited settings. Misdiagnosis or the incorrect dosage of antibiotics can put children at greater risk. In these settings, community health workers (CHWs) are trained to detect fast breathing, a danger sign for pneumonia, and diagnose the disease by observing and counting how quickly a child’s chest rises and falls in one minute. Field assessments and feedback from CHWs suggest new approaches are needed to improve the design of the tools to help them count breaths more accurately. For CHWs, the ideal solution would be a a low-tech, low-cost device that could automatically detect pneumonia, could withstand extreme environmental conditions and would not be reliant on electricity. While developments for new and more intuitive pneumonia diagnostic tools are on the horizon, rapid diagnostics tests that can be given at the point of care are not currently available.
Acute respiratory infection timer WHO guidelines for the diagnosis of pneumonia by CHWs in children 2-12 months old is 50 or more breaths per minute. For children from 12 months to 5 years the threshold is 40 breaths per minute.
28 Supply Annual Report 2012