Pneumonia has been claiming the highest number of child lives in the country, despite a remarkable progress in under-five child survival for immunization and oral saline over the last three decades, pediatricians and health scientists said here yesterday. "Pneumonia is still the leading cause of childhood deaths in Bangladesh,' Steve Luby, agency head of Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US Embassy in Dhaka, told a symposium. Bangladesh Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases (BSPID), a newly formed body of Paediatricians and health scientists, organised the two-day function at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre, where experts from home and abroad are participating. BSPID President and former director of Dhaka Shishu Hospital Prof Manzoor Hussain chaired the inaugural function, addressed by National Prof M R Khan, noted paediatrician Prof MQK Talukder, Prof Dr Satish Deopoojari of India, BSPID Secretary General Dr Samir K Saha, and BSPID Executives Dr Reaz Mobarak and Dr Mizanur Rahman. Steve Luby, also head of the programme on infectious disease of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), said one in five children per 1,000 died within five years of their age during 1975, but this number has come down by 75 percent over the last three decades. "There is a 90 percent reduction alone in diarrhoea-specific deaths over last 30 years,' he said referring to the statistics of the latest Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). He said Bangladesh is one of the three to four developing countries heading successfully towards achieving millennium development goals (MDGs). Steve Luby referred to the findings of a three-year community and hospital-based surveillance in urban Dhaka ended in 2007 and said meningitis, pneumonia, severe pneumonia and very severe pneumonia were common causes of child illnesses. He also said streptococcus, and influenza are important paediatric pathogens in Bangladesh. Answering to a question he said the problem of pneumonia necessitates a combined effort from paediatricians, parents and policymakers for further reduction in under-five child mortality and morbidity in the country, where prevalence of pneumonia is around 40 percent among sick children. He also expressed hope that the World Health Organization (WHO) would soon recommend alternative antibiotics of ampicillin and penicillin for such treatments at a low cost. Prof Talukder underscored the need for popularising breastfeeding further among mothers from all walks of life. The children who are not breastfed are four times susceptible to infection than the breastfed children, he pointed out and added that breastfeeding could be one of the best means to prevent child mortality. Prof Manzoor Hussain said the BSPID has been formed to work as a catalyst to groom specialised paediatricians and train general practitioners across the country to treat emerging and reemerging infections among children. The incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases among children are very high, despite successful running of the extended programme for immunization (EPI). "The emerging infection diseases such as nipah virus and HIV/AIDS need specialised persons to deal with,' he said, adding that the DSPID would work as an umbrella organisation to help the doctors who want to develop their career as 'infectious disease paediatricians.' A total of 125 doctors have already joined in BSPID for the purpose, he added. According to Unicef statistics, under-five child mortality mostly results from neonatal mortality, which makes up 55 percent of such deaths in Bangladesh. More than 120,000 neonates die within four weeks of their birth every year and most of these deaths occur at homes, where 90 percent of deliveries take place without proper safety. Malnutrition and lack of health education are seen two other factors killing children.

cancer cure: Scientists in Germany are considering developing a new drug for neuroblastoma, a tumour of the nervous system in children. They have identified a constituent in a fungus that might be useful for the drug. The substance, HC-toxin, from a maize pathogen, reprogrammes neuroblastoma cells in a way that they behave like healthy cells again.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will re-start distribution of tetra-packed flavoured milk among civic school students. To start from the academic year 2008-09, the scheme will now be optional for students. Launched in November last year, the civic body had discontinued the scheme about two months back after 42 students felt ill consuming the strawberry-flavoured milk. The packs distributed were initially of elaichi flavour, but later they switched to strawberry flavour. However, milk will now be distributed in flavours of chocolate, mango and elaichi. The decision to re-start the scheme was taken on Wednesday at the BMC Standing Committee meeting when the civic administration submitted its joint task force's final report after considering the findings of the the expert committee. The expert committee, which analysed the contents of the tetra-packed milk after the students fell sick in separate cases, found no chemical adulteration or bacterial presence in the samples. Addressing the standing committee, Additional Municipal Commissioner M Sangle said that there is no harm in re-starting the distribution system of flavoured milk. "From March 2008, students from class V to X will be given the milk, while those from class I to IV will get it from June,' he said. Acting on the expert committee report by Dr Sanjay Oak, dean of Nair Hospital, the civic administration has decided to reduce the quantity of milk for students of primary level. "Considering their digestive level, they will be given 125 ml of milk instead of 200 ml,' Sangle said. The BMC has awarded contract for distributing flavoured tetra-packs to Rashtriya Madhyawarti Mazdoor Grahak Sangh who would procure the milk from GK Dairy in Haryana. The dairy will supply 4.5 lakh packets daily. The 200 ml packet will cost of Rs 11. Standing Committee Chairman Ravindra Waikar said that since the quantity of milk in almost half the packs has been reduced by 75 ml (for the pre-primary students), the civic administration should discuss with the contractor about reducing their price. Sangle, however, said that it would not be compulsory for students to drink the milk. "We will also not force children to consume the milk. It will be optional. Only if they want, they will be given the packs,' Sangle said. The standing committee has also asked to create awareness amongst students, parents and teachers to avoid any untoward incident due to flavoured milk consumption, by display of posters on use of tetra-packs and straws.

Following an intensified campaign launched by health department Kashmir 9.96 lakh children below 5 years age were administered Pulse Polio drops today in Kashmir division. For this purpose, an was launched across Kashmir division . In all, 5046 Pulse Polio booths were established with manpower of 20204 belonging to Health, Social Welfare, Education and Non-Governmental Organization besides Aashas. MLA Bandipora Usman Majid took off the pulse polio campaign by giving pulse polio drops to a newly born baby. The District Development Commissioner of Budgam Farooq Ahmad Renzu launched Pulse Polio campaign by administering pulse polio drops to the children early morning. The District Development Commissioner, Kupwara took off the campaign at Sub District Hospital Kupwara by giving pulse polio drops to the children. On this occasion, he said 1.24 lakh children of the district will be covered under the programme at 560 pulse polio centres for which 2240 officials were detailed on duty. In Srinagar and Ganderbal districts, Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr. Muzaffar Ahmad launched the campaign by administering pulse polio drops at Government Gousia Hospital Khanyar and Sub District Hospital, Ganderbal. He said 2928 officials of various departments were deployed on duty for 727 pulse polio centres established in Srinagar and Ganderbal districts. He said 35 mobile teams were also put into service to achieve the target. Director Health Services was accompanied by senior officers of Health and Family Welfare departments. In Pulwama and Shopian districts, 612 pulse polio centres with a manpower of 2448 officials were deployed to achieve the target of 1.12 lakh children under pulse polio campaign. Similarly, the pulse polio campaign was going apace in Anantnag, Kulgam, Baramulla, Bandipora, Leh and Kargil districts. In addition the department of Health Services had also made adequate arrangements in far-flung and border areas like Karnah, Keran, Matchil, Gurez and Uri. The Director Health said that 256 supervisory and mobile teams were monitoring the campaign across the division.

At a time when the poor infrastructure of the state's heath department has been constantly inviting criticism from every nook and corner, a model developed in West Bengal to reduce mortality rate of newborns, has been praised and recognised by the United Nations. The newborn care unit model of the state, known as the Purulia model, would be adopted by the other states to bring down children mortality rate under United Nations Millennium Development Goal-IV (UNMDG-IV). Such states include ~ Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

New York: Kids who live in neighborhoods with heavy traffic pollution have lower IQs and score worse on other tests of intelligence and memory than children who breathe cleaner air, a new study shows. The effect of pollution on intelligence was similar to that seen in children whose mothers smoked 10 cigarettes a day while pregnant, or in kids who have been exposed to lead, Dr Shakira Franco Suglia of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, the study's lead author, said.