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Peru provided 11,362 patient visits for pneumonia in early months of June 25, 2012 ? 21:13
A total of 11,362 medical assistance were offered for pneumonia during the first months of this year in Peru, where there were 115 deaths from the disease, according to the latest epidemiological bulletin of the Ministry of Health (MoH) ..
The document, dated 12 May last, said that the regions that led to deaths from pneumonia were the Amazon Loreto, with 19 deaths, and the Andean Puno, with 14 fatalities.
A Health Ministry spokesman told Efe noted, however, that these figures represent the care of patients who, in many cases may need medical services on several occasions.
The same report puts in about 1,000 attentions from pneumonia in children under five in the country.
The national head of the child life stage of the Directorate of Integrated Health of the MoH, Vilca Rosa, told Efe that respiratory problems are the main reason people go to a health center for help in Peru.
Vilca said, however, that the cold does not determine the development of pneumonia, but when the disease is most vulnerable in people.
In the case of children under five years, "there are defense mechanisms that are just being built, and building effective will depend on good nutrition and good home care," said the official.
However, the child will be malnourished and anemic more exposed to diseases when, for example, housing characteristics do not protect from the cold or the hygiene conditions will bring the family to overcrowding, said Vilca.
In the case of Loreto, the official health ministry said it takes "to teach feeding practices to strengthen nutrition" and bring health services to families.
Meanwhile, in Puno, the plateau region where the temperature drops to 10 degrees below zero, Vilca said that families have the habit of carrying their children with them in their business transactions, since it is an area of strong border trade with Bolivia.
"Expose children to the environment, because families are in need of work", but the ministry encourages local governments to set up shelters for children during working hours from their parents, he noted.
In Cuzco, Peru's southern region known for its archaeological attractions, the situation is more dispersed, Vilca said, because it has two very distinct areas, an Andean border Puno, and a jungle, with tropical temperatures and inaccessible forests.