By Kunal DuttNew Delhi, Nov 22 (PTI) A global study on the hiddencauses of deaths of children aged under five will soon beconducted in India, using "minimally-invasive" techniques andadvanced laboratory methods, the ICMR chief said today.
Soumya Swaminathan, Director-General of the IndianCouncil of Medical Research (ICMR) said the study, titledChild Health and Mortality Prevention Surveillance (CHAMPS),funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will start on apilot-basis in a "month or two" in the country.
"The idea behind this study is to try to understand thecauses of death of children under the age of five. In mostcountries, including India, the maximum burden of prematuremortality happens in children under five.
"So, it is important to prevent that, in fact that wholeworld is now focussed on reducing that through variousinterventions such as vaccination, improving water,sanitation, access to antibiotics, but unless we understandwhat are the causes that are killing the children, we can'ttake preventive measures," she said.
The ICMR chief, who will soon take charge as the DeputyDirector General for Programmes, the World Health Organizationin Geneva, said the study has already started in "SouthAfrica, Mozambique and Mali".
"It will now be done in Bangladesh and India. We willstart the pilot very soon, in Safdarjung Hospital here, in amonth or two, because the Ethics Committee approval, andeverything, has been done," Swaminathan told PTI.
As part of the study, the Centre-run hospital will act asthe 'Expert Guidance Centre', where the paediatricsdepartment's doctors will get trained, will be able to dofurther training.
"An international team of experts will be coming, fromthe CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), Atlanta,in the US. And, the laboratory testing will be done incollaboration with the CDC," she added.
This study will uses a lot of advanced laboratorymethods, to uncover the "hidden causes of death", she said.
"The study will be done through taking minimally-invasivetissue biopsies, tissue samples, after the child has died,like taking samples of vein, lung, liver, spleen, blood, andthen do a number of microbiological and pathologicalinvestigations," the ICMR chief said.
The National Institute of Pathology (NIP) at theSafdarjung Hospital will be the main institute involved i inthe study.
"After hospitals, we want to take it to the field areas,where there is a lot of child mortality, so that we canactually capture, ultimately the cause of deaths of childrenin the community. Also, we want to look at a large number ofpathogens and disease conditions," she added.
Swaminathan said the idea originated through discussionson global fora.
"The fact that previous autopsy studies have shown quitesurprising things. Most of these autopsy studies have beendone in Africa. An autopsies are very difficult to do for manyreasons.
"And that is when they came up with this concept ofminimally-invasive biopsies, which is more acceptable to thefamilies, and easier to do also for doctors," she said.
The ICMR chief, said though there is still a lot ofreluctance socially, but "things are changing".
"If you look at organ donation, more and more people arecoming forward. So, it is the way you approach, tell thefamilies the logic and the larger cause, that the child in theneighbourhood could be the next one, so a larger context isimportant," she added.
According to the CHAMPS official website, "Every year,nearly six million children under the age of five die.
Unfortunately, the causes of these deaths often remain amystery due to gaps in disease surveillance, death registriesand data to inform evidence-based policy, especially in low-resource countries, where mortality rates are the highest."PTI KND SMNSMN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.