Give it to pneumonia
� hook, line and zinc 'er

Zinc supplements show promise in fighting off childhood pneumonia

By Phillipa Rispin

Zinc was first produced in 13th century India where it was commonly used to make brass. In ancient India, merchants would try to sell brass as fake gold, which is deemed more valuable. However, some would argue that we've only just scratched the surface when it comes to how valuable zinc really is. This essential mineral is needed to repair wounds, help cells reproduce and preserve vision. And if that isn't enough, zinc not only galvanizes metals to prevent corrosion, in mineral form it also fires up the immune system to fight off pneumonia. A recent study published in the May 22 issue of The Lancet has added to the evidence. Lead author Dr W Abdullah Brooks, of the Centre for Health and Population Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh reported that 20mg/day of zinc shortened the duration of illness and length of hospital stay in infants with pneumonia.

The trial looked at 270 infants aged two to 23 months who had severe pneumonia but didn't have concurrent diarrhea. Zinc supplements were given to 135 patients, placebo to the other 135. All subjects received ampicillin and gentamicin, and those who failed to improve after 48 hours of antibiotic treatment were then given ceftriaxone instead.

In the group receiving zinc, the symptoms of severe pneumonia � respiratory rate of more than 50 per minute and hypoxia � cleared up faster, shaving a day off hospital stay for these kids. In their conclusion, the study investigators noted that not only did zinc supplements accelerate recovery from severe pneumonia, but it also helps reduce antimicrobial resistance by decreasing exposure to antibiotics.

The authors were writing from the perspective of healthcare providers in an area of the world where access to vaccines, antibiotics, and hospital care are out of reach for most. The situation is better but still serious in Canada. According to the Canadian Paediatric Society, S pneumoniae is the leading cause of invasive bacterial infections in young children: "Among children younger than five years of age in Canada, S pneumoniae causes approximately 2,200 cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization [and is] responsible for an average of 15 deaths" each year. This single pathogen is also "a leading bacterial cause of otitis media among children and is the most common agent responsible for recurrent and chronic middle ear infections."

Canadians have better access to vaccines, but many children are not routinely vaccinated against pneumococcal infections. Antibiotics are easily available to most, but drug-resistant bugs complicate the problem � approximately 20% of clinical pneumococcal isolates have some degree of resistance to penicillins.

The article in The Lancet concludes that zinc is a highly promising and relatively cheap treatment, but that much more study is needed. So don't invest in any zinc mines just yet.