Infections cause 68 percent of child deaths, study finds

LONDON - More than two thirds of the estimated 8.8 million deaths in children under 5 years of age worldwide in 2008 were caused by infectious diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria, according to a study on behalf of the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund.

The study, published in the medical journal Lancet on Wednesday, found that infectious diseases caused 68 percent of deaths in children under 5, led by pneumonia (18 percent), diarrhea (15 percent) and malaria (8 percent).

High-income countries account for only around one percent of the under-5 deaths, and almost half of such deaths occurred in five countries - India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, and China.