Diarrhoea, pneumonia vaccines on the cards

According to the World Health Organisation, both diarrhoeal diseases and pneumonia represent a major health problem in developing countries.
WHO representative Dr Custodia Mandlhate said about four million children under the age of five years die from diarrhoea each year.
She said rotavirus – which causes diarrhoea – has been observed to be a challenge in children under five years.
“Almost all infants acquire rotavirus diarrhoea early in life, and rotavirus accounts for at least a third of severe and potentially fatal watery diarrhoea episodes – primarily in developing countries,” Dr Mandlhate said.
In Zimbabwe rotavirus outbreaks were recently reported in Kwekwe and Kadoma districts where a total of 1 263 cases and 22 deaths were reported.
In order to combat outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases in children under five years, Government with support from WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund will introduce the rotavirus vaccine in 2013.
The pnemococcal vaccine for pneumonia will be introduced next year.
“The pnemococcal and rotavirus vaccines will be integrate into the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and would be introduced in 2012 and 2013 respectively,” Dr Mandlhate said.
Health and Child Welfare Minister Dr Henry Madzorera said lack of proper sanitary facilities have resulted in increase of diarrhoeal diseases.
He said because of poor sanitation, agents of these diseases – salmonella typhi (which causes typhoid), shigella dysenteriae (which causes dysentery), vibrion cholera (causes cholera) and rotavirus (causes diarrhoea) are now widely available in the environment where children play and families socialise.
Mr Itai Rusike of the Community Working Group on Health has lambasted Harare City Council for failing to offer services yet they continue collecting revenue from residents.
He said typhoid was a forgotten disease in other countries and this should be the case here in Zimbabwe.