According to research in The Lancet, viral agents like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and not bacteria are the leading causes of pneumonia hospitalization in kids five-and-under throughout Africa and Asia.
The study, which lasted 2 years, included more than 1,700 children aged 1 to 59 months who were hospitalized with severe pneumonia in nine sites in Bangladesh, The Gambia, Kenya, Mali, South Africa, Thailand and Zambia.
[Researchers] estimated that 61.4% of pneumonia cases were caused by viruses, whereas 27.3% were caused by bacteria and 5.9% were caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
