New Meningitis Vaccine Brings Hope of Taming a Ravaging Illness in Africa

[Shiloh]

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/world/africa/05meningitis.html?src=twrhp

New Meningitis Vaccine Brings Hope of Taming a Ravaging Illness in Africa

By CELIA W. DUGGER
Published: December 4, 2010

JOHANNESBURG ? For over a century, epidemics of bacterial meningitis have swept across Africa, arriving with the dry harmattan winds to kill with terrifying speed. But on Monday, a drive starts to inoculate tens of millions of West Africans with a new vaccine in what scientists hope will be the beginning of the end of ravaging meningitis epidemics.

The aim is for these immunization campaigns to spread from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east, bringing the disease under control and saving an estimated 150,000 lives by 2015 in a belt of 25 nations that girds the continent...

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: New Meningitis Vaccine Brings Hope of Taming a Ravaging Illness in Africa

Revolutionary new meningitis vaccine set to wipe out deadly epidemics in Africa


More than 12 million people in Burkina Faso to receive new vaccine by end of year

6 DECEMBER 2010 | OUAGADOUGOU -- The West African nation of Burkina Faso today became the first country to begin a nationwide campaign to introduce a new meningitis vaccine that promises to rid the entire region of the primary cause of epidemic meningitis. The first vaccine designed specifically for Africa, MenAfriVac is expected to help health workers eliminate meningococcal A epidemics in the 25 countries of the meningitis belt, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east.

An affordable solution

Priced at less than US$ 0.50 per dose, MenAfriVac is a highly affordable solution to one of the region?s biggest health problems. Using a unique public-private partnership model, the development of MenAfriVac cost only US$ 50 million - a fraction of the amount usually required to develop and bring a new vaccine to market.

450 million people at risk

For more than 100 years, sub-Saharan Africa has suffered from epidemics that exact a terrible and deadly toll. As many as 450 million people are at risk from the disease across Africa. Major group A epidemics occur every 7-14 years and are particularly devastating to children and young adults. The sickest patients typically die within 24 to 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, and of those who survive, 10-20% suffer brain damage, hearing loss or a learning disability. In 2009, the seasonal outbreak of meningitis across a large swathe of sub-Saharan Africa infected at least 88 000 people and led to more than 5 000 deaths.

Read more - WHO

 

[Shiloh]

Re: New Meningitis Vaccine Brings Hope of Taming a Ravaging Illness in Africa

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201012071006.html

Africa: The Meningitis Vaccine Project - Frequently Asked Questions
7 December 2010

...The vaccine

What is the expected public health impact of this new vaccine?

If introduced in all 25 countries of the African meningitis belt, this vaccine is expected to eliminate the primary cause of epidemic meningitis, group A meningococcus, from the entire region, with an estimated 150 000 young lives saved by 2015.


What advantages does MenAfriVac have over existing polysaccharide meningococcal vaccines currently used to combat epidemics in Africa?

Contrary to polysaccharide vaccines that are used currently to control epidemics after they have begun, the new conjugate vaccine will be offered to prevent epidemics. Key advantages of the new vaccine over existing polysaccharide vaccines are: ??it induces a higher and more sustainable immune response against the most prominent strain in the most affected age groups, from 1-29 years; ?it is expected to confer long-term protection not only for those who receive the vaccine, but on family members and others who would otherwise have been exposed to meningitis, given reduced transmission: ??it will be available at a lower price than other meningococcal vaccines, and significantly lower than other cutting-edge vaccines recently introduced in Africa; and ??it is expected to be particularly effective in protecting children under two years of age, who do not respond to conventional polysaccharide vaccines.

Will this vaccine protect against all types of meningitis?

No, MenAfriVac will only protect again disease caused by the group A meningococcus?the main cause of meningitis epidemics in Africa, accounting for about 80 to 85 percent of all cases. Meningitis cases caused by other groups, such as W135, X and C, also occur. Vaccines for other groups are either not yet available (X) or far too expensive for African countries (C, W, or Y in various combinations). However, it is hoped that a combination of ongoing research and development efforts and tiered pricing will contribute to making these vaccines available to developing countries in the future.

How was the vaccine developed?...How much will the vaccine cost?...What is the timeline for campaigns across the meningitis belt?...