The Department of Biotechnology claims to have made a significant breakthrough using zinc (tablets), along with standard antibiotics, to cure young children suffering from serious bacterial infection, including sepsis, meningitis and pneumonia.
In the first worldwide study to show the efficacy of zinc, Indian researchers have shown that the risk of death of young infants, between 7 and 120 days, being treated for serious bacterial infections, was reduced by 43 per cent when given 10 milligrams of zinc.
Dr Shinjini Bhatnagar, Prof of Paediatric Biology Centre in Translational Health Science and Technology Institute conducted a study at AIIMS and two other hospitals in which 352 newborns were given zinc tablets while 348 were given placebo in addition to antibiotics.
“The result showed that children given zinc were 40 per cent less likely to experience treatment failure than those given placebo. Risk of death was also reduced by 43 per cent,” she said. Dr Bhatnagar added, “Zinc is an accessible, low-cost intervention that could add to the effect of antibiotic treatment and lead to substantial improvement, particularly in low and middle-income nations where millions of children die from serious infections every year and where second-line antibiotics and intensive care many not be available.”
It was further pointed out that 80 per cent of the immune deficiency in the body was due to zinc deficiency which is presently on the scale of the HIV AIDS epidemic.
Department of Biotechnology secretary M.K. Bhan said that 80 per cent of immune deficiency in the body is due to zinc deficiency. After iron, it is the second most important micro-nutrient in the body.