Pneumonia in children, although rare in the U.S., kills more children worldwide than any other disease (estimated to be 1.6 million deaths per year). [Prior posts have noted, though, the adverse impact of various air pollutants on urban children.]
Researchers hypothecated that open fires used for heating and cooking are a major cause of childhood pneumonia. To test the thesis, they selected 534 households in rural Guatemala, each containing a pregnant woman or a young infant. Households were randomly assigned a chimney-stove; as such 265 had chimney stoves and 253 used traditional cooking fires. Trained field workers visited each home every two weeks to record the children's health status; sick children were referred to doctors. They also assessed the state of the chimney stoves and made necessary repairs. CO measurements were taken for 48 hours every 3 months.
Although the intervention did not reduce the number of childhood pneumonia cases, it did reduce severe pneumonia cases by 30%. This reduction was akin to that achieved by vaccinations and nutrional supplements.
The study can be found at http://cleancookstoves.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Household-Cookstoves.pdf and http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)60921-5/abstract.
Comments