Doctors Across Asia Unite to Prevent Disease

June 13, 2008
Antara

International Symposium Reinforces Need for Immediate Action to Prevent Pneumococcal Disease and Save Lives.

The Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) is calling on the Indonesian Government to include Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV-7) (Prevenar™) on the national immunization schedule as a matter of urgency.

Data presented this week at the 6th International Symposium for Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-6) confirms that a universal pneumococcal vaccination program would reduce the incidence of infection and save lives.

This is in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) position paper, stating that PCV-7 (Prevenar™) be included in the national immunization programs (NIPs) as a priority, particularly in countries where the mortality rate of children under five years is greater than 50/1000 live births, or where more than 50,000 die annually.

Pneumococcal disease (PD) is one of the most infectious killer diseases today. Tragically, between 700,000 and 1 million children below five years old die as a result of PD each year. Every hour that ticks by, between 80 and 112 children die by the hand of this killer disease, or roughly between 1,900 and 2,700 child deaths a day around the world.

In developing countries around the world, PD is considered the first cause of children's death. Across Asia Pacific the burden of disease is high. Data presented at the symposium highlights the information available across the Asia Pacific region relating to Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD) infection and mortality rates.

One study of PD burden across Asian countries reported incidence of IPD among children younger than five years of age ranging from 30.9 cases per 100,000 in Japan to 276 cases per 100,000 in Bangladesh. Importantly, the data also highlight that PCV-7 could help prevent between 57% and 91% of IPD cases in children younger than two years of age in Asia.

Dr Lulu Bravo, Chairperson of ASAP said, "As doctors and parents, we know the devastating impact the death of a child has on everyone. But you might not be able to feel the pain and the loss, until it happens to your own child. Never before have we had such a body of evidence to prove to health authorities that they must act now and put an end to this unnecessary suffering."

Currently, PCV-7 is the first and only vaccine to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and children younger than 24 months. It also helps to protect older children up to 9 years old.

Many health authorities have already recognized the importance of protecting infants and young children against PD. The PCV-7 is available in 76 countries (as of January 2007) and is part of the routine national childhood immunization schedule in 17 countries worldwide.

Currently in Asia Pacific, only Australia and New Zealand have included the PCV-7 as part of its national immunization program.

"It is now time for the Indonesian Government to embrace this data and implement change immediately to protect our children from this preventable disease," said Dr Bravo.

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