A Filipina is making medical history to help save lives. As part of her battle to alleviate global health standards Dr. Lulu Bravo, pediatric infectious disease chief of the PGH, is launching the Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) – the only organization of its kind in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The burden of the disease in the very young cannot be overemphasized," Dr. Bravo said. Pneumonia causes nearly one in five deaths of children under five-years-old worldwide - more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined.

Pneumococcal disease (PD) is one of the most infectious killer illnesses today. Each year, it preys on 1.6 million victims, a majority of which are children below five. Caused by the bacteria streptococcus pneumoniae, it manifests in a wide range of serious, diseases such as pneumonia, bacteremia, sepsis, meningitis, acute otitis media, and sinusitis.2

What aggravates the PD situation is that infections are becoming increasingly difficult to treat as bacteria become resistant to some commonly used antibiotics. The good news is that it is preventable by vaccines.

"We strongly feel that if more parents, physicians, policy makers and decision makers know about the disease and its prevention, urgent steps will be taken to drastically reduce the disease burden," she said.

ASAP aims to broaden the reach of vaccines that help protect against PD in the Asia-Pacific region.

Widespread vaccination is expected to significantly reduce PD cases, not only easing the suffering of children but also reducing the considerable economic and social costs associated with treating the disease.

Dr. Bravo is inspired by initiatives in the United States which showed routine use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines reduced the incidence of PD, which dropped by 94 percent to 4.6 cases out of 100,000 children under five-years-old in 2003 from 80 cases per 100,000 in 2004.

Dr. Bravo is focusing on efforts to prevent PD by calling on decision makers to include the vaccine in the national immunization programs of Asian countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, 7-valent (PCV-7) is indicated for active immunization of children 0-24 months against invasive diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. For more information, schedule a visit with your pediatrician.