Setting priorities for development of emerging interventions against childhood pneumonia, meningitis and influenza

A cute lower respiratory infections, which broadly include pneumonia and bronchiolitis, are still the leading cause of childhood mortality.ALRI contributed to 18% of all deaths in children younger than five years of age in 2008 [1], and the main pathogens responsible for high mortality were Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and respiratory syncytial virus [2-4].In addition, meningitis was estimated to contribute up to 200 000 deaths each year, and influenza anywhere between 25 000 and 110 000 [1,5].It is widely acknowledged that a major portion of this mortality should be avoidable if universal coverage of all known effective interventions could be achieved.However, some evaluations of the implementation of World Health Organization' s (WHO) Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy, which…