People who have a weakened immune system (infection-fighting system) are at risk of developing infections caused by common germs that are usually harmless. These infections are known as 'opportunistic'. This is because organisms which do not usually cause disease in healthy people use the opportunity created by lowered immunity to become infective.
One opportunistic organism is a type of fungus called pneumocystis. This fungus can cause an infection called pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP).
Doctors can reduce the risk of your child with a weakened immune system developing pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). They do this by giving your child medicine that helps prevent this infection from developing. This medicine will either be:
All the pages in the childhood cancer section of this website [2] have been written by health professionals who work in the field of paediatric oncology. They have been reviewed by the members of the National Child Cancer Network (NZ). Medical information is authorised by the clinical leader of the National Child Cancer Network.
This page last reviewed 10 June 2021.
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[1] https://kidshealth.org.nz/tags/infections-during-cancer-treatment
[2] https://kidshealth.org.nz/tags/childhood-cancer
[3] https://kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fkidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F2514%3Flanguage%3Dzh-hant