Zinc supplements ‘can aid survival from respiratory tract infection’

Use of zinc supplements could help to greatly increase children's chances of survival following a respiratory tract infection.

This is the conclusion of a new study from Makerere University in Uganda, which suggests that the treatment could play a vital role in protecting paediatric patients against common killers such as pneumonia.

A placebo-controlled trial showed that although zinc does not help to accelerate recovery from infections of this kind, mortality rates among enrolled patients fell to four percent when using the supplements, compared to 12 percent among those who did not.

This increase in survival rates was shown to be particularly pronounced among HIV-infected children, due to the role zinc can play in bolstering the immune system.

Professor James Tumwine said: "In Uganda … zinc deficiency in some areas can be as high as 70 percent. We would only need to give 13 of these children with pneumonia zinc on top of their antibiotics to save one life."

According to NHS information, pneumonia rates among UK adults stand at around 11 per 1,000 people, striking more often in the autumn and winter.