Pneumonia deadliest child killer: aid groups

Pneumonia is the world’s deadliest child killer, with a “forgotten epidemic” claiming one young life every 39 seconds, international health and children’s agencies warned yesterday. The disease is preventable but still kills more children -- 800,000 under the age of five last year -- than any other infection, they said in a statement to mark World Pneumonia Day. The numbers make grim reading and compare with 437,000 under-fives dying last year due to diarrhoea and 272,000 to malaria.