chennai one child under five dies from pneumonia every two minutes in india according to the indian academy of paediatrics the disease that is responsible for the deaths of nearly one million children every year is preventable partly with vaccines healthy lifestyle and timely medical intervention said paediatrician dr c satheesh president indian academy of paediatrics chennai branchon tuesday ahead of the world pneumonia day nov 12 he said parents who can afford vaccinations should ensure their children are vaccinated against the disease although pneumonia can be caused by virus bacteria or fungi studies have found that at least three out of 20 children are infected by streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria the government of india has included pneumococcal vaccine under the immunisation scheme but it is now available only in select states it may take time to launch the vaccine in tamil nadu but parents who can afford it should vaccinate their children he saidthe cost of the vaccine is rs 3600 and children below the age of 15 months will require three doses and a boosterthe doctors body has called for action for no more pneumonia to encourage childhood vaccination that will help prevent the disease and reduce toll beside vaccination doctors prescribe exclusive breast feeding for up to five months nutritious diet pollution control hygiene and immunisation statistics show that at least 30 per 1000 children are affected by the disease in 2010 the latest statistics available there were more than 36 million episodes of pneumonia among children the average cost of treatment for the disease is at least rs 5655 according to a hospitalbased survey but in many cases the cost is high because increasingly bacteria are resistant to drugs like amoxicillin the second line of treatment is expensive and costs a ton and worse there is no guarantee on the outcome dr satheesh saidseveral senior paediatricians agreed it is important to give children the vaccine it prevents illness and suffering also parents spend more when the child is infected said kanchi kamakoti childs trust hospital medical director dr s balasubramanian a study coauthored by the doctor said streptococcus pneumoniae was the major cause of pneumonia meningitis and sepsis its now proven beyond doubt that vaccines are effective meanwhile pharmaceutical companies governments and aid donors need to come together to make the vaccine prices more affordable to save more lives he said