India accounted for the highest number of pneumonia cases among children under the age of five and deaths in the world, as ten Asian countries topped the list of nations, according to the latest data with the World Health Organisation.

The studies, to be published in the next edition of the Lancet, had identified two leading causes of pneumonia -- Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b [Hib]. The two infections take the lives of an estimated 1.2 million children under age five each year.

Data from the study show that in 2000, there were an estimated 14.5 million cases of pneumococcal disease worldwide and 826,000 children under five years of age died of the disease. Of the 14.5 million pneumococcal cases, 95 per cent were attributable to pneumonia. While the majority of pneumococcal cases (51 per cent) were found in Asia due to the high population, an estimated 54 per cent of pneumococcal deaths occurred in Africa, where the lack of vaccines, a high prevalence of HIV infection and lack of access to medical care contributed to the death toll.

The ten countries with the greatest number and greatest proportion of global pneumococcal cases were in Asia and Africa, and taken together account for 66 per cent of cases worldwide. These countries include India (27 per cent), China (12 per cent), Nigeria (5 per cent), Pakistan (5 per cent), Bangladesh (4 per cent), Indonesia (3 per cent), Ethiopia (3 per cent), Democratic Republic of the Congo (3 per cent), Kenya (2 per cent) and the Philippines (2 per cent) are these countries.

"Pneumococcal disease takes the lives of more than 140,000 Indian children every year - that is one child every four minutes. Just one of our children dying of a preventable disease is one too many, particularly when affordable solutions are now available to the public sector," said Dr Mathuram Santosham, professor of International Health and Paediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Findings from the Hib study indicate that in 2000, Hib caused aproximately 8.1 million serious illnesses worldwide and caused 371,000 child deaths. As with pneumococcal disease, the greatest burden of Hib disease lies in Asia and Africa. The ten countries with the highest estimated number of Hib deaths in 2000 include India (72,000), Nigeria (34,000), Ethiopia (24,000), Democratic Republic of the Congo (22,000), China (19,000), Afghanistan (14,000), Pakistan (13,000), Bangladesh (12,000), Angola (9,000) and Niger (8,000).