Karnataka is among the 10 states where pneumonia vaccine will be introduced in 2010 under the national immunization programme. The other states where the vaccine will be introduced are Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal and Maharashtra.

Going by the 80 per cent coverage of immunization reported by the states, the Union government made an automatic choice to select them, said Panna Choudhury, president, Indian Academy of Paediatrics.

The financial assistance has been disbursed by the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization to the Union government which is now gearing up to vaccinate children to help fight the dangerous bacteria causing pneumonia.

Annually in India, pneumonia accounts for over four lakh deaths among children under five years of age and almost 50,000 are affected by Hib.

For over a decade the paediatrics have been urging the Union government to include a Hib vaccine in the routine immunization programme. Now this is a combination vaccine which is effective against DPT and Hepatitis B, he added.

In India, there are five companies engaged in the research and production of the pneumonia vaccine. These are Serum Institute, Shanta Biotech, Panacea Biotec, Bharat Biotech and Biological Evans. Of these only Shanta Biotech and Panacea Biotec have bagged the WHO pre-qualification vaccine supply which is to be administered against five deadly infectious diseases (DTwP+ Hep B+ Hib) of early childhood. The two companies will supply the vaccines for the Universal Immunization Programme. The multinational pharma majors which manufacture the vaccine are GSK and sanofi-aventis.

There are several international companies in this space in the country’s vaccine market. These include Wyeth, GSK, sanofi-aventis and Eli Lilly. The global vaccine market is estimated to touch US$ 21.05 billion by 2010 and pneumonia segment accounts for over three fifths of the market, according to a report.

Pediatrics from the Manipal Hospital and Victoria Hospital who are members of the Karnataka branch of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics said that under the 11th Plan and Millennium Development strategy of the Union government the focus has been to wipe out pneumonia. The effort will now help to decrease the child mortality by two thirds at least by 2015. The Hib and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are proven to be safe and effective in preventing pneumonia and meningitis in children and therefore are mandatory under the national immunization programme, stated the team of specialists.

With pneumonia accounting for more child deaths than any other illness and being the highest cause of mortality, the decision to include Hib has come as a big relief.