Pneumonia, along with bronchitis, affects the airways and lungs, classifying it as a lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). Since pneumonia causes a significant amount of LRTI cases around the world, its global prevalence can be compared to that of LRTI’s. A map was created using death and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 [23]. Figure 1 to the right demonstrates that deaths due to LRTI’s, including pneumonia, are concentrated in developing countries of Africa, Asia, and South America.
The WHO places LRTI’s as the 4th leading cause of death in the world [25]. The statistics presented by the World Health Organization indicate 3.1 million human lives were lost to LRTIs in 2012. These statistics consequently demonstrate that pneumonia causes just under 5.5% of annual deaths worldwide [25]. However, in low-income countries, the distribution of top causes of death is altered dramatically. Shown in Figure 2 to the right, LRTI’s, including pneumonia, are the leading cause of death in low income countries [26]. However, the data differs from middle and high-income countries, which show ischemic heart disease or stroke as the most common cause of death. These statistics indicate there is a strong need to improve methods of preventing, diagnosing and treating LRTI’s, including pneumonia, in the developing countries of the world.
Pneumonia, along with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, is also categorized as an acute respiratory infection (ARI) [22]. ARIs claim around 4.25 million lives annually worldwide, with the highest death rates concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia [22]. These areas have a high prevalence of these infections due to poverty, malnutrition, indoor and outdoor pollution, tobacco use and overcrowded living conditions [22,24]. The Acute Respiratory Infections Atlas states the death rate of pneumonia in low-income countries can be upwards of 215 times the rate in high income countries [22]. The global adult population, specifically, loses 1.65 million adults over 60, and over 0.5 million from ages 15-59 to acute respiratory infections, including pneumonia [22]. Figure 2 visually demonstrates the concentration of ARIs in the developing countries of the world.
Figure 1: This image presents the age-standardized disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rates from Lower respiratory infections by country (per 100,000 inhabitants) from the World Health Organization data in 2004. It can be seen that the countries largely affected by lower respiratory infections are concentrated in developing countries of Africa and Asia. ("Lower respiratory infections world map - DALY - WHO2004" by Lokal_Profil [23])
Figure 2: This figure demonstrates the top 10 causes of death in low-income countries in 2012. This data was collected and shared by the World Health Organization. The leading causes of death in these countries, also known as developing countries, differ from the total global leading causes. In low-income countries, lower respiratory infections, HIV/AIDS, and diarrhoeal diseases are much more prevalent than Stroke and ischaemic heart disease. Therefor there exists a strong need in developing countries for advances in diagnosis and treatment of treatable lower respiratory infections [26].
Figure 3: This image depicts the death rates caused by acute respiratory infections. It demonstrates that the highest prevalence is within sub-Saharan Africa in addition to many developing countries in Asia and South America [22].