World Pneumonia Day is November 12, 2017. Established in 2009, World Pneumonia Day aims to raise awareness of the impact that the illness has around the world. Globally, pneumonia is the leading infectious killer of children under the age of five and kills an estimated one million kids each year.

Despite being easy to prevent and treat with antibiotics, oxygen and fluids, many children in remote areas and developing countries die from lack of treatment. BC Children’s Hospital and UBC researchers are working to change that with an easy-to-use, low-cost smartphone tool called Pocket Doc for Pneumonia, which will help health care workers in remote areas accurately diagnose pneumonia and provide life-saving treatments.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to change the way we diagnose and treat the leading cause of death of children worldwide,” said Dr. Mark Ansermino, project lead, investigator at BC Children’s Hospital and professor in the Department of Anesthesia, Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia. “This project will enable us to deliver a smart integrated technology platform to help save children with pneumonia.”

More information about Pocket Doc for Pneumonia can be found at http://bcchr.ca/pocket-doc-4-pneumonia/home.