Bangladesh introduces new vaccine to prevent severe forms of child pneumonia and meningitis

Today, Bangladesh introduces a new combination vaccine that will protect its children against five killer diseases in one injection, including, for the first time, the deadly bacterium Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) that causes some severe forms of pneumonia and meningitis. In a ceremony in Khulna District, southwest of the capital Dhaka, the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Professor A.F.M. Ruhul Haque, along with other health officials and representatives of UN agencies and development partners will administer the first shots of the combination vaccine to Bangladeshi children.Hib is one of the causes of severe pneumonia and meningitis among children. Each year, Hib is estimated to cause millions of serious illnesses and 400,000 deaths globally, the majority of them among children under five years of age. Even with treatment, thousands of children die of Hib disease every year. Survivors are often permanently disabled—paralyzed, deafened or brain damaged. The vaccine can prevent about one third of life-threatening cases of bacterial pneumonia, the leading infectious cause of death in children worldwide. In Bangladesh, it is estimated that 24% of under-five child deaths is due to pneumonia.

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