Developing countries suffer from a number of medical issues, including lack of proper infrastructure, funding, and outreach. These issues can quickly pile up and lead to a rampant number of deaths, such as those caused by pneumococcal pneumonia. The disease itself is preventable, which is why Pfizer has teamed up with Fighting Infectious Diseases in Emerging Countries (FIDEC) to launch the Vale La Pena campaign.
The campaign launched today, with an intimate seminar at the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Miami, Florida and an emphasis on bringing preventative care, rather than reactive treatment, to the elderly in 14 Latin American countries. Dr. María Luisa Ávila, former Costa Rican Minister of Health; Dr. Daniel Stamboulian, founder of FIDEC; and Mark Partridge from Pfizer were on hand to promote Vale La Pena and explain its relevancy.
Pneumococcal pneumonia can be confused with the cold or flu, but the consequences can be deadly if not treated, especially for seniors. In six Latin American countries, five people die every hour, and another 25 are hospitalized. Pneumococcal pneumonia can be prevented with vaccinations - the only problem is that seniors tend to shy away from getting vaccinations.
Some of the reasons seniors do not vaccinate themselves against this potentially life-threatening disease is because they think they're healthy or worry about getting sick from the vaccination. In response to a question about the obstacles to vaccinating seniors, Dr. Ávila responded that many patients tend to view a vaccination as an unnecessary financial burden late in life, rather than as an investment in their future.
But the elderly are not entirely to blame. Partridge explained that doctors are to blame too, since doctors for adults tend to ignore vaccinations, unlike pediatric doctors. Dr. Stamboulian also agreed, stating that adult doctors are more focused on treating diseases, rather than preventing them. Strains are becoming resistant to antibiotics, making vaccinations even more important. In Uruguay alone, 50 percent of S.pneumoniae is resistant to penicillin.
Vale La Pena hopes to bring awareness to countries such as Mexico, where the death toll from pneumococcal pneumonia was over 40,000 in 2010, and Brazil, where deaths from the disease number well over 100,000, making it the fourth leading cause of adult mortality in the country. By educating the public about the threat pneumococcal pneumonia poses to those over 50, Vale La Pena hopes to curb deaths from respiratory infections by introducing more vaccinations into Latin American countries.