Mangalore (PTI): Indian and International experts in child health have stressed the need to take immediate steps to control and prevent pneumonia morbidity and mortality which, they said, is the leading cause of death among children under-five years in India and other developing countries.

"India leads the world in under-five mortality, with 20 lakh children dying every year," said Dr Jeeson Unni on the occasion of the Mangalore Pneumococcal Disease Conference.

"Of these, four lakh deaths are due to pneumonia."

The conference is jointly hosted Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal disease prevention-India chapter (ASAP-India) and Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP).

"Half of all severe cases of pneumonia and pneumonia deaths are caused by pneumococcus and almost 40 per cent of these deaths i.e. nearly one lakh under-five deaths, are preventable by use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the Naitonal Immunisation Programme," said Dr. Nitin Shah.

Dr Unni said "Pneumonia is the forgotten killer of children. It kills more children than any other illness - more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined -according to UNICEF data".

Doctors use antibiotics to treat children with pneumonia, but increasing incidence of drug-resistant pneumococcus is a cause for concern, Dr Srinivas G Kasi said.

About 80 paediatricians from Mangalore and around are participating in the event.

Dr Nitin shah said "pneumococcal conjugate vaccine has proven 90 per cent efficacy against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in the trials done in the West. Even in countries like South Africa the trials have shown 80 per cent efficacy of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against IPD".

The speakers and participants were unanimous about the pivotal role of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in preventing pneumococcal disease in infants and children younger than 24 months. It also helps protect older children up to nine years. Successful childhood national immunization programme with PCV has shown significant benefits passed on to even unvaccinated people of all ages due to the herd immunity against IPD and penumonia,they said.