The best protection from infectious diseases is prevention, paediatricians say. Out of 50 million people who die each year, 17 million die of infectious diseases. This translates to 50,000 deaths daily caused by infections alone.
Of these, more than 1 million are children younger than 5 years old, who die each year of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). Despite the wide availability of antibiotic treatment, 3 out of 10 children still die from invasive pneumococcal diseases because of antibiotic resistance.
Invasive pneumococcal disease can be prevented with a new vaccine available, effective for children below two years of age and will have tremendous benefits, said Professor Sajid Maqbool, President of Pakistan Pediatric Association.
In Pakistan 100,000 of children under 5 years of age die every year, due to pneumococcal pneumonia, said Professor Iqbal Memon. Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacteria that causes pneumococcal diseases such as bacteremic pneumonia (infection of the lungs), bacteremia (bacterial infection of the blood), septicemia (infection of the blood with shock and organ failure), meningitis (infection of the membrane covering the brain and spinal cord), acute otitis media (middle ear infection), and sinusitis occur commonly on the very young, vulnerable children as the child's immune system is immature and not able to develop antibodies against Streptococcus pneumoniae.
It is a disease that takes 1 million innocent lives every year, often before the child reaches his or her 5th birthday. Even if they survive, they are likely to have permanent disabilities such as seizures, deafness, paralysis and mental retardation.
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