Thousands of children fall prey to respiratory illness every year because of pollution in Mumbai
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Is your child under five years? Mumbai's polluted air could literally be taking their breath away. In the past five years, 3 lakh children below the age of five have been admitted to hospitals across the state due to respiratory diseases. Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are any infection of the sinuses, throat, airways or lungs. They are usually caused by viruses, but can also be caused by bacteria. There are two types of infections - upper and lower RTI. Mostly children below suffer from lower RTI, which includes bronchitis and pneumonia.
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Mumbai alone accounted 15% of these cases, ranking as the second-worst affected city in Maharashtra. This city is beaten only by Pune, which accounted for 20.5% of the total cases from 2013-2017. But last year, this trend reversed, with Mumbai racking up close to double the number of ailing children as Pune - while Mumbai recorded 6,366 cases in 2017, Pune recorded 3,607.
Blame pollution
As per the WHO, air pollution is a major environment-related health threat to children, and a risk factor for both acute and chronic respiratory disease. "Recently, I have observed that the highest of number of cases feature pneumonia among children. In fact, this year also, a high number of pneumonia cases were reported. This is mostly because of growing pollution in the city. The children who are into outdoor sports generally develop the infection," said Dr Sundeep Salvi, director at the Chest Research Foundation.
Outside your home, allergens and pollutants can impair the body's immunity, and if such infections remain untreated, they can eventually settle in the lungs and create a potentially life-threatening situation. Other than outdoor pollution, second-hand tobacco smoke and indoor fumes are also considered as top causes of infection among children. In poorly ventilated dwellings, indoor smoke can be 100 times higher than acceptable levels for small particles.
"Smog from the burning of cow dung and woods causes lots of smoke inside closed rooms. If ventilation is limited then it remains inside the room and goes inside the breathing pipe of children, causing infection," added Salvi.
Clearing the air
It's not all bad new though. Since 2015, there has been a marked decrease in the number of cases. From 79,454 ailing children in 2015, the state-wide figures fell to a much lower 26,162 in 2017. "Nutrition gives the strength to fight the toxins in the air. If nutrition is poor then the immunity becomes weak and it affects the body. Children who have suffered from lower respiratory tract infections should be more careful as they have two- to four-fold increased risk of developing asthma in later life," said Dr Pragati Agarwal, pulmonologist from D Y Patil University's School of Medicine.
Every breath they take...
26,162
Cases across Maharashtra in 2017
6,366
Cases from Mumbai in 2017
20.5%
Cases in the state that come from Pune
15%
Cases in the state that come from Mumbai
2.9 lakh
No. of kids under five admitted for respiratory ailments across the state in 2013-2017
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