The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Children in Bangalore prone to pneumococcal disease

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Monday, Jun 16, 2008
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Karnataka - Bangalore

Children in Bangalore prone to pneumococcal disease

Staff Reporter

The infection manifests itself as meningitis, pneumonia, sepsis

It is the leading cause of
vaccine-preventable deaths in children
Study conducted in three hospitals
in south Bangalore

Bangalore: A recent study has shown that children under five in Bangalore are vulnerable to pneumococcal disease, a bacterial infection that manifests as pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.

The study, conducted in three major hospitals in south Bangalore, has shown that 2,219 children were hospitalised due to invasive bacterial diseases in 2006. This translates into 15 cases of hospitalisation for every 1,000 children in Bangalore (southern zone). Of these, 50 per cent could be attributed to pneumococcal disease, said R. Nisargi, Professor of Paediatrics at Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), and primary investigator of the study. The study was conducted by the International Vaccine Institute at KIMS, Vani Vilas Hospital and Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health. The results were presented at the sixth “International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases” held in Iceland earlier this year. Of the 2,219 cases, pneumonia was the most commonly reported, accounting for 44 per cent of patients, followed by sepsis (35 per cent) and meningitis (21 per cent). There were 178 deaths among children below five. Almost half of these were due to sepsis, 31 per cent due to pneumonia and 20 per cent due to meningitis.

“More than 16 lakh children die of pneumococcal disease across the world every year, and India accounts for one fourth of this figure. However, the disease and mortality are highly preventable through routine vaccines,” Prof. Nisargi said. According to the World Health Organisation, pneumococcal disease is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths in children less than five years, worldwide. “There has been growing pressure on the Government to ensure inexpensive vaccines. Europe and the United States have virtually eliminated childhood pneumococcal disease through routine vaccination, ,” he said. This study will pave the way for a comprehensive study, to be initiated next month, as part of the “Pan Asia Epidemiological Surveillance Network.”

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