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Indian lungs under extreme stress
Why is it in the news?
- As per National Health Profile-2019, Acute respiratory infections (ARI) accounted for 69.47% of morbidity in the year 2018.
- ARI morbidity was the highest in the communicable disease category.
- National Health Profile is released by the Union Health Ministry.
More in the news
- How the Illness comes?
(1) When one breathe in polluted air, particles and pollutants penetrate and inflame the linings of your bronchial tubes and lungs.
(2) This leads to respiratory illness such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease, asthma, wheezing, coughing and difficulty in breathing.
(3) Children seem to be most vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution because they breathe through their mouths, bypassing the filtering effects of the nasal passages and allowing pollutants to travel deeper into the lungs.
- What WHO say?
(1) ARI is a serious ailment that prevents normal breathing function and kills an estimated 2.6 million children annually worldwide.
(2) Indians face the double burden of heavy air pollution in addition to the high rate of ARI which hits children the hardest.
- Vulnerability:
(1) The current level of air pollution poses a high risk to pregnant women and the baby.
(2) The foetus receives oxygen from the mother, and if she is breathing polluted air, it can increase the health risk of unborn babies.
(3) It involve the risk of pre-term delivery and low birth weight. These factors can lead to developmental disabilities later on.
Source
The Hindu.