New vaccine launched to control child mortality

KARACHI - A new combination vaccine is being introduced by the government which will protect children from the bacterium Hib (Haemophilus influenza type B), the most common cause of deadly pneumonia and meningitis, and four other common childhood diseases, is being introduced by the government this month.

The Hib bacterium is a top killer of children under the age of five in the developing world and in Pakistan each year an estimated 23,000 children die from Hib disease.

This new vaccine, introduced under the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), is crucial to reducing meningitis and pneumonia-related deaths among children. It helped in achieving child health-related Millennium Development Goals in Pakistan, said Dr Anita Zaidi, professor, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Aga Khan University (AKU), at an international symposium on diseases of the tropics being held at the university.