SEOUL--17 Dec--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest Healthcare professionals unite with launch of Asia Pacific grouping to prevent pneumococcal disease The fight to save more children from dying of pneumococcal disease (PD) in Asia Pacific has taken on added urgency, with healthcare professionals from around the region uniting to launch a regional group called the Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal disease prevention, or ASAP. The choice of "ASAP" as its preferred term of reference is deliberate.Like the popular usage of "ASAP" to mean "As-Soon-As-Possible", the groupwants to drive home the message that immediate action needs to be taken to prevent PD and save lives. ASAP is the first and only grouping of its kind in the region formed to specifically focus its resources on PD in the Asia Pacific. It is the onlyAsian group to join the growing number of experts from international organizations like the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in the collective effort to raise awareness of infectious diseases like PD and its prevention. ASAP is affiliated to the global Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE) and the Asian Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ASPID). It also collaborates with other public health and pediatric groups to achieve its mission of containing and controlling pneumococcal disease in the Asia Pacific region through awareness, surveillance, advocacy and prevention. The launch was announced at the First Symposium on Pneumococcal Vaccination in the Asia Pacific Region held at the Lotte Hotel, Seoul, South Korea. The two-day Symposium which started on December 13, 2007, was organized by IVI. Pneumococcal disease is one of the most infectious killer diseases today. Tragically, between 700,000 and 1 million children below five years old die as a result of PD each year. Every hour that ticks by, between 80 and 112 children die by the hand of this killer disease, or roughly between 1,900 and 2,700 child deaths a day around the world. In developing countries around the world, PD is considered the first cause of children's death. Dr. Lulu Bravo, Chairperson of ASAP and Chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the College of Medicine, University of the Philippines Manila, Philippines General Hospital said: "As doctors and parents, we know the devastating impact the death of a child has on everyone. But you might not be able to feel the pain and the loss, until it happens to your own child. We want to tell everyone that this situation is avoidable -- pneumococcal disease is preventable by vaccination. 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 diseaseburden. "ASAP wants to be the voice of our children, speaking up and looking out for them so that they can live longer and healthier lives. Our formation is the call to action to raise the level of awareness of PD, facilitate the exchange of information and insights on the disease, propose solutions and push for more preventive measures to be taken." Currently, the Pneumococcal Saccharide Conjugated Vaccine or PCV-7 for short, is the first and only vaccine to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease in infants and children younger than 24 months. It also helps to protect older children up to 9 years old. PCV-7 is used for active immunization and helps to protect against disease caused by seven serotypes (strains) of the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as pneumococcus. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the inclusion of PCV-7 in national immunization programs as a priority, particularly in countries where the mortality rate of children under five years old is greater than 50/1000 live births, or where more than 50,000 die annually. Many health authorities have already recognized the importance of protecting infants and young children against PD. The PCV-7 is available in 76 countries (as of January 2007) and is part of the routine national childhood immunization schedule in 17 countries worldwide. Currently in Asia Pacific, only Australia and New Zealand have included the PCV-7 as part of its national immunization program. In the region, South Korea has the highest rate of birth cohort penetration with 78 percent of newly born children being vaccinated through the private market. Hong Kong has the next highest with 41 percent, followed by Singapore at 36 percent and Taiwan at 24 percent of cohort penetration. Elsewhere in Asia Pacific, there is a stark difference in the number of infants and young children being vaccinated even in countries where PCV-7 has been introduced. The figure ranges from 0 to 3 percent. Presently, 10- and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine formulations are in advanced stages of development. Once pneumococcal vaccines offeringbroader serotype coverage become available, countries using PCV-7 should assess whether it would be helpful to switch to these vaccines. ASAP has identified a number of strategies which it aims to carry out over the next few years to achieve its objectives. One of these is the systematic collation of region-wide information on various aspects of the disease. ASAP will not only share knowledge and experiences gained in the prevention and management of PD but will also actively engage policy makers in the process. To enhance target audience reach and accelerate the dissemination of information on PD, ASAP will seek the cooperation of the media on educational campaigns and other promotional initiatives. ASAP members will also serve as a regional panel of experts to develop educational material for healthcare professionals, including organizing thescientific content for a regional pneumococcal disease conference. The group currently has members from Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. Dr. Bravo, who has served as a WHO temporary advisor for various childhood illnesses, and is now a term member of WHO's technical steering committee of Children and Adolescents, said: "Truly, there is no cause nobler than that of saving lives. Our children are our future. The formation of ASAP is an exciting development but it is only a start. We hope more healthcare professionals, parents, policy makers, opinion leaders and those in positions of influence will join us and make a difference in the fight against thiscommon killer of children." Background on Pneumococcal Disease (PD) Pneumococcal disease (which includes meningitis, pneumonia, bacteremia, and acute otitis media) is estimated to result in up to 1 million deaths each year in children, most of whom are in developing countries. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) recently recommended that the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine be incorporatedinto immunization programs now, in view of the demonstrated vaccine efficiency and high disease burden, to help substantially reduce mortality and morbidity. About Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal disease prevention (ASAP) ASAP was launched on December 14, 2007 and is the first and only grouping of healthcare professionals in this region formed to specifically focus resources on PD in Asia Pacific. It is the only Asian group to join the growing number of experts from international organizations like theInternational Vaccine Institute (IVI) in the collective effort to raise awareness of infectious diseases like PD and its prevention. ASAP is affiliated to the global Pneumococcal Awareness Council of Experts (PACE) and the Asian Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ASPID). It also collaborates with other public health and pediatric groups to achieve its mission of containing and controlling pneumococcal disease in the Asia Pacific region through awareness, surveillance, advocacy and prevention. SOURCE Porter Novelli CONTACT: Melissa Tan, +65-6539-9295, or Sam Ran, +65-6539-9277, both of Porter Novelli --Distributed by AsiaNet ( www.asianetnews.net )--