WHO prequalifies Pneumococcal vaccine at low price

What is Pneumococcal

Well, of course anyone could google it, even i might have done it, but i will try to produce in front of you in a layman language.

So, a pneumococcal disease is a type of infection caused by an external bacteria known as streptococcus pneumoniae ( scientific name, it's fine if you can't pronounce it, even i can't do!!). Even though it is in person's organ it is possible that the person might not be affected by those bacteria in the initial phase. Also, this is an infection disease which means it is contiguous and can be spread through different means such as: by breathing, coughing or sneezing.

This infection could be the catalyst to various other illnesses like:

• Bacterial meningitis
• Pneumonia ( a common still a deadly infection that infects the lungs)
• Otitis media (ear infection)
• Bacteremia (infection in the blood stream)
• Sinus infection

Pneumonia a medieval risk

Pneumonia being one of the infectious disease which caused over 808,694 deaths of the children under the age of 5 which accounts for 15% of total death of the children under the age 5 (according to the WHO report of 2017). According to the 2019 report of the UNICEF on the pneumonia accounts for over 1,27,000 deaths only in India in 2018, which is considered to be the second highest child mortality rate.

So, how exactly this infection spreads and through what medium?

Pneumonia can be spread through number of ways, for example:

• Usually the viruses and bacteria are found in the children's nose or through which could be the result of inhaling the airborne bacteria.
• Through airborne droplets from cough or sneeze of the already infected host.
• Blood is also one of the medium through which the infection could be spread, especially during or after the birth.

Prior the medium we should be aware about its origin and the risk factors

Well, most of the children can fight the infection with the help of their natural defenses, but those with the weak or compromised immune might easily become prey to the pneumonia. Moreover, there are various reasons for children having weak immune:

• Immune can weakened by malnutrition.
• Undernourished children especially those with who are not being breastfed.
• Pre-existing illness such as HIV infections or measles which might increase the rate of being infected by the pneumonia.
• Moreover, environment factors are also responsible for the child's susceptibility to pneumonia, this include:
• indoor air pollution such as, cooking or heating with biomass fuels.
• Living in crowded locality.
• Parental smoking or passive smoking.

The cure

The Pneumococcal vaccine is being procured by different pharmaceutical industries. These vaccines are used to increase the immune system of the child. So, this vaccine is developed by one such Pune based Serum institute in India which has been pre-qualified by the World Health Organization (WHO).

It has also been tested in Gambia where three doses of the vaccine were given to 2,250 infants at 6, 10, 14 weeks. The trials were also carried out prior to the testing which is considered as the phase-3. Phase-1 and Phase-2 trials were taken in India earlier.

The vaccine is also included with the wider range of serotypes (serotypes are the different bacteria that are responsible for the pneumococcal disease and over 90 serotypes are present all over the world). 

Financially feasible

The vaccine will be available in just $2 for the low and medium income countries. This eventually make the vaccine cheaper which will be sold in 30% less than the market value.

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Thank you for your patience