Respiratory Diseases
India has the highest number of cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the world and is the leading cause of asthma deaths globally. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 estimated that India had 55.3 million cases of COPD and 37.9 million cases of asthma in 2016.
COVID-19
COVID-19 infections are seen across all age groups, but they have shown to have a predisposition for the elderly and those with underlying comorbidities.
Patients with severe COVID-19 infections and comorbidities are more prone to respiratory distress syndrome, mechanical ventilator use, and ultimately succumb to these complications.
COVID-19 can cause lung complications such as pneumonia and, in the most severe cases, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS. Sepsis, another possible complication of COVID-19, can also cause lasting harm to the lungs and other organs.
Newer coronavirus variants may also cause more airway disease, such as bronchitis, that may be severe enough to warrant hospitalization.
COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive respiratory condition with major sequelae including cardiovascular risk, respiratory failure, and lung cancer.
Several risk factors have been proposed to contribute to COPD, including smoking, indoor and outdoor air pollution, genetics, occupational hazards, and childhood or adult infections. Furthermore, COPD inflicts a large and growing burden in both direct and indirect costs to society.
In the European Union, for example, the total direct costs of respiratory diseases are estimated to be 6% of the total annual health care allocation, with COPD accounting for 56% (€38.6 billion) of the total cost of respiratory diseases.
In the United States, COPD costs are projected to increase over the next 20 years, approaching $40 billion per year and translating into a total of $800 billion over 20 years.
PNEUMONIA
Gram-positive pneumonia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Of the gram-positive pathogens that cause pneumonia, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus are the most common.
The diagnosis of gram-positive pneumonia remains less than satisfactory, and newer diagnostic techniques such as antibody- and polymerase chain reaction-based antigen detection have yet to prove themselves.
Drug resistance among gram-positive organisms is now endemic throughout the world and remains a serious therapeutic problem despite the availability of new antimicrobials.
Efforts to control the spread of resistant strains include, in the case of S. aureus, stringent isolation policies and topical treatment to reduce carriage and, for S. pneumonia, increased use of available vaccines and the develop- ment of more immunogenic vaccines.
Global Burden
Respiratory tract infections, especially lower respiratory infections (LRIs), are a leading cause of death and disability, particularly in children younger than 5 years old.
The etiology of LRIs can be viral (e.g., respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza virus, influenza virus, adenovirus and coronavirus) or bacterial [e.g., Streptococcus pneumonia and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)]. Moreover, Streptococcus pneumonia is the principal aetiological agent of LRIs and is responsible for around half of the deaths.
LRIs also impose a substantial economic burden, with LRIs due to RSV costing an average of $3,600 and $310 for inpatient and outpatient treatment, respectively, which can be higher if there are any underlying diseases or follow-up is required.
Influenza (flu)
A 2018 CDC study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases looked at the percentage of the U.S. population who got sick with flu using two different methods and compared the findings.
Both methods had similar findings, which suggested that on average, about 8 percent of the U.S. population gets sick from flu each season, with a range of between 3 percent and 11 percent, depending on the season.
Parainfluenza Viruses
Human parainfluenza viruses (HPIVs) are a group of viruses that affect both the upper and lower respiratory tracts.
They belong to the Paramyxoviridae family.
Unlike seasonal flu, the annual flu shot doesn’t prevent parainfluenza viruses.
RSV
RSV is a viral infection that can lead to inflammation of the respiratory tract and lungs.
The peak time for RSV to spread is during fall and winter.
Most children and adults with RSV will have mild symptoms similar to the common cold and recover in one to two weeks.
In children younger than 1 year, RSV is the most common cause of inflammation of the lungs, such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia.