South Africa starts Prevenar program

US drug major Wyeth Pharmaceuticals says that South Africa has initiated an immunization program against pneumococcal disease with the firm's Prevenar (pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine, adsorbed), which helps protect infants and young children against the seven vaccine serotypes causing the majority of pneumococcal disease worldwide. The South African government launched the pneumococcal disease immunization program in the Eastern Cape district of Ukhahlamba last week and has plans to expand it nationwide by the end of March 2009.

This historic initiative will support the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals to reduce child mortality in children younger than five years of age. Including South Africa, there are now 27 countries that have included Prevenar in their national immunization programs, the drugmaker notes.

According to the World Health Organization, pneumococcal disease causes nearly 1.6 million deaths in children each year and is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of death in children younger than five years of age worldwide.