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Published on July 16th, 2017 | by David Morales

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Health Watch: Childhood invasive pneumococcal disease

How much do parents actually know about childhood infectious diseases? According to Dr. Jen Trachtenberg and a new national survey sponsored by Pfizer in partnership with Parents magazine, many of us are not aware of invasive pneumococcal disease. With only about 30 percent of parents reporting that they are knowledgeable about the disease, The Hype magazine takes an informative role. invasive pneumococcal disease can be spread by something as simple as a cough and can lead to pneumococcal Meningitis or bacteremia, a serious blood stream infection. To help touch on some preventative measures, Dr. Jen joins us in a satellite presentation in hopes to spread awareness about the disease and to help maximize the potential that exists within every child.

 Dr. Jen, tell us about this program and what the survey uncovered. 

So, I’ve actually teamed up with Parents magazine as well Pfizer to give you this survey results and to really help to educate parents today. What the survey showed — it was really assessing the knowledge of new parents and expectant parents, looking at 11 childhood illnesses and how to prevent them. What the survey showed was that parents were least knowledgeable about invasive pneumococcal disease. In fact, 30 percent said they never even heard of it or they weren’t really that knowledgeable about it.

How does parents’ knowledge of invasive pneumococcal disease compare to the rest of the diseases included within the survey?

Sure, well invasive pneumococcal disease or IPD which is obviously a lot easier to say it was the one that parents knew the least about. It’s really important to know about invasive pneumococcal disease, because it can have severe complications. Invasive pneumococcal disease can cause bacteremia which is a blood infection, but it can also cause meningitis which is an infection around the spinal cord and the brain and can be really severe. So, it’s important for parents to know about the disease and what they can do to prevent it.

Dr. Jen, what is invasive pneumococcal disease? Are all children at risk?

So, children are at risk of invasive pneumococcal disease, as well as, the other childhood infectious disease that are preventable by the 14 vaccines for a childhood. But actually, children under the age of two are even more susceptible and at higher risk because their immune system is still developing. So it’s really important for parents to know and to speak to their pediatricians about staying up-to-date and current with their vaccines according to the CDC recommendations.

  Where can parents go for more information?

For more information, parents can go to babypneumococcalfacts.com. To find out more information, they can also go to the CDC website, but also their own pediatrician or a health care provider. Also, you can give them lots of information as well too.

 


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About the Author

is the Executive Editor of The Hype magazine. A graduate of Eastern Michigan University, David has a background as an artist manager, writer, blogger, drummer, and in the human services industry. He is passionate about helping others, learning and has a deep empathy for the creative process. You can follow his social media @dcypherstudios


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