Pneumonia Kills Four Lakh Indian Kids Every Year

Express News Service
Sep 26, 2008

HYDERABAD: While we feel proud that India has the largest population of youths, it is also true that the country has the dubious distinction of having the highest mortality rate among children less than five years of age.

One of the reasons for this is said to be pneumonia. Experts who call it the 'forgotten disease', say that at least four lakh kids die of the disease every year in India.

The Andhra Pradesh chapter of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (AP-IAP) organised a press conference here on Thursday to highlight the preventive measures that needed to be taken up to keep the disease at bay.

"We have not been paying much attention to this simple yet dangerous disease that has existed for the past few centuries. To prevent this disease, one needs to administer pnemococcal vaccination to the babies along with other vaccinations," said AP-IAP president Dr Sudhershan Reddy.

He also emphasised that the Government of India should include this vaccine in the National Immunisation Plan (NIP).

"For countries with high mortality rate, especially in the age group of 0-5 years, it is a priority to include the vaccine in the NIP," he said.

He also informed that the pnemococcal vaccine could be obtained for Rs 7 to Rs 14 per dose with financial support from the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initiative (GAVI).

The panel, comprising secretary Venkateswara Rao and treasurer Ajay Kumar, stated that there had been a significant decline in the number of pneumonia cases with the usage of the pnemococcal vaccine which is available in 88 countries.

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