Highlighting that pneumonia remained a major cause, accounting for nearly 20 percent, of the deaths of children below five years of age, the Madurai Branch of Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) has appealed for more awareness programmes and preventive measures to control the disease. Addressing the media on World Pneumonia Day,S. Venkateswaran, former president of Tamil Nadu Branch of IAP, said that though treatment had improved over the years, preventive measures did not.
S. Balasankar, Professor at the Institute of Child Health and Research Centre at Government Rajaji Hospital, said that considerable number of pneumonia deaths were due to late medical attention.
