Natural Health November 2018

PREVENTION & Remedies
Professor Dato’
Dr Hj Abdul Razak Muttalif
Senior Consultant Chest Physician at
the Institute of Respiratory Medicine
Hospital Kuala Lumpur
Pneumonia can cause respiratory failure by triggering a
combination of infection and inflammatory response – the lungs
quickly gets filled with fluid and become stiff. This stiffness,
combined with severe difficulties in extracting oxygen may
require long periods of mechanical ventilation for survival.
Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common bacterial
cause of community-acquired pneumonia also known as
Pneumococcal CAP. Pneumococcal CAP is one of the
leading causes of death and hospitalization worldwide³.
Pneumococcal CAP can be classified as non-invasive, when
bacteria cause infection in the lungs but are not detected in
the blood concurrently, or invasive, when bacteria also enter
the bloodstream (bacteraemia pneumonia) or another normally
sterile site in the body. While non-invasive forms of CAP are
typically more common, the invasive types of disease are
generally more severe.
‘Community acquired Pneumonia (CAP) is different than hospitalacquired
pneumonia where the disease is contracted by
patients who live in a healthcare system in a long term capacity
or have recently visited a hospital. A literal understanding
of CAP would be that you acquire pneumonia through your
everyday life in the community – mixing with people, being in
crowded situations and socializing – sounds pretty much like an
average Malaysian’s life!
Asia currently is and is projected to continue being, home to
a dominant share of the world’s population. According to a
United Nations report, the proportion of elderly citizens (aged
60 and above) in the region is expected to increase from 9.9%
in 2010 to 23.6% in 2050 4 .In many developing countries,
the number of adults aged 65 years and below is expected to
grow by more than 250%, with some of the countries including
Philippines, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh 5 . These statistics
provide an overview of the alarming rates of the disease in
adults and are an indication for the urgent need to address the
prevalence of pneumonia in adults.
There are many factors that cause a person to be easily
affected with pneumonia but it is especially dangerous
when they have a weak immune system. Pre-existing health
complications such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
(a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe), asthma,
renal or liver disease, cancer and diabetes can make them
more prone to developing pneumonia 6 . Additional external
factors such as smoking, increased alcohol intake and living
conditions such as long-term care residency also have a hand
in reducing the functionality of their immune systems, making
them more susceptible to the risk of infection and more prone to
complications and mortality.
36 Natural Health * November 2017 VOL 85