Dangerous! 98 percent kids under age of 5 in India exposed to toxic air

About 98 per cent of children under the age of five years in low and middleincome countries which include nations like India were exposed to air pollution caused by finer particulate matters in 2016 according to a World Health Organisation study released MondayIn the report titled Air Pollution and Child Health Prescribing Clean Air deaths of about 600000 children under 15 years of age in 2016 were attributed to the joint effects of ambient and household air pollutionThe report said household air pollution from cooking and ambient air pollution caused more than 50 per cent of acute lower respiratory infections in children under 5 years of age in low and middleincome countriesThe WHO report examines the heavy toll of both ambient outside and household air pollution on the health of the children across world particularly in low and middleincome countries like IndiaIn low and middleincome countries around the world 98 of all children under 5 are exposed to PM25 levels above WHO air quality guidelines In comparison in highincome countries 52 of children under 5 are exposed to levels above WHO air quality guidelines the study says Globally 93 per cent of the worlds children under 18 years of age are exposed to ambient fine particulate matter PM25 levels above WHO air quality guidelines which include the 630 million of children under 5 years of age and 18 billion of children under 15 years the report saidThe PM25 or particles with a diameter of less than 25 micrometres present in the air also called fine particulates can be a matter of more serious health concern than PM10 those with a diameter of less than 10 micrometresPM25 poses greater harm as being finer it can easily be inhaled into the respiratory tractThe PM25 has reached dangerous levels in New Delhi in the last two weeks A thick blanket of haze engulfed the city Monday and an overall Air Quality Index of 348 was recorded which falls in the very poor category according to data of the Central Pollution Control BoardAir pollution is one of the leading threats to child health accounting for almost 1 in 10 deaths in children under five years of age the report notedThe WHO report cited a case study that investigated whether exposure to PM25 during pregnancy was associated with low birth weight in an integrated ruralurban motherchild cohort in Tamil NaduThe researchers recruited 1285 women in the first trimester of pregnancy in primary health care centres and urban health posts and followed them until the birth of their child to collect data on maternal health prenatal care exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and the birthweight of the child the study saidThey found that a 10 microgm3 increase in exposure to PM25 during pregnancy was associated with a decrease in birth weight of 4 g and a 2 per cent increase in the prevalence of low birth weightThis study provided some of the first quantitative estimates of the effects of exposure to PM25 in India to birth weight It contributed evidence of this association that is relevant for highexposure settings in LMICs that experience the dual health burdens of ambient air pollution and household air pollution it saidThe findings indicate that maternal exposure to PM25 should be considered with other risk factors for low birthweight in India The study also provided baseline information for a new multicountry HAP intervention trial under way in Guatemala India Peru and Rwanda on the effects of clean fuel in this case LPG use on maternal and child health The report quoted a case control study in India which showed a correlation between exposure to HAP from solid fuel combustion and the risk of contracting TB in children less than 5 years of ageThe evidence suggests a positive association between exposure to air pollution and TB infection in children although further research is needed the report saidCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever