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WHO approves meningitis A vaccine for infants in sub-Saharan Africa
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WHO has approved an affordable meningitis A vaccine for infants in Africa, allowing for routine immunization of millions of additional people in a region heavily affected by the disease, according a news release.
MenAfriVac was introduced in Africa 4 years ago and has had an immediate impact on epidemics in the so-called “African meningitis belt,” an area with a high burden of disease that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia. The vaccine previously was approved by WHO through its prequalification program for children and adults aged 1 to 29 years.
In October 2014, two clinical studies of the vaccine in infants along with other data were presented to the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization, which recommended a single-dose (5 mcg) schedule at age 9 months or older to sustain the progress made by mass vaccination campaigns initiated in 2010.
“Initial mass vaccination campaigns with MenAfriVac have been highly effective in reducing the number of meningitis A cases,” Marie-Pierre Préziosi, MD, PhD, director of the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP), said in the release. “But epidemics will return when rising numbers of unprotected newborns become a larger proportion of the total population over time. Now, with this decision, health officials will be able to ensure that population-wide protection is sustained by routinely immunizing infants.”
Figure 1. The MenAfriVac meningitis A vaccine was previously approved by WHO for children and adults aged 1 to 29 years. It is now available for infants aged less than 1 year.
Source:PATH/Gabe Bienczycki
News of WHO’s decision to authorize use of MenAfriVac in children aged younger than 1 year was announced by MVP — a partnership between the global health nonprofit PATH and WHO — and the vaccine’s manufacturer, Serum Institute of India. The announcement allows international procurement agencies to purchase the vaccine for use in African meningitis belt countries.
According to MVP, the vaccine costs 50 cents per dose — the cheapest vaccine to be scheduled for introduction into routine immunization programs. MenAfriVac was developed rapidly at less than one-tenth the cost of other modern vaccines. After its introduction in 2010, the vaccine was delivered to more than 215 million people in 15 countries in the meningitis belt. It was the first vaccine developed outside of “traditional pharma,” the partnership said, and the only vaccine developed specifically for people in Africa.
Kathleen M. Neuzil
“With MenAfriVac, we created a revolutionary new model for vaccine development, and now we stand on the brink of protecting an entire generation, and those to come, from a devastating disease,” Kathleen M. Neuzil, MD, MPH, director of vaccine access and delivery at PATH and an Infectious Disease News Editorial Board member, said in the release. “Our efforts began with a request by African leaders to address a major health challenge affecting hundreds of millions of people, and in less than a decade, we proved that a safe, effective vaccine could be developed and deployed across multiple countries at a price that was sustainable.”
While mass vaccination programs are under way in Africa, seven countries — Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Mali, Niger and Nigeria — plan to introduce MenAfriVac into their routine immunization programs this year.