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ACIP makes recommendations on meningococcal vaccine in infants
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The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended that the meningococcal vaccine Menactra can be administered to children as young as 9 months who have a heightened risk for contracting the disease.
The committee acted on the recommendation of one of its working groups, which found that the small proportion of children in this age group, specifically those who have certain immune deficiencies or those with travel considerations, could potentially benefit from Menactra (Sanofi-Pasteur). The committee opted against a routine vaccination recommendation for the general population.
The vaccine would be given in two doses, 3 months apart. In April, the FDA approved use of this vaccine in children as young as 9 months.
The recommendations came on the heels of the FDA approving the vaccination being used in this age group. The FDA approval was based on four trials involving more than 3,700 participants as young as 9 months. Injection-site tenderness and irritability were reported, and fever rates were comparable to other vaccines.
Menactra was approved to prevent Neisseria meningitidis serogroups A, C, Y and W-135, but it does not protect a strain commonly associated with meningococcal disease in younger children, serogroup B, which committee members said is needed.
ACIP also heard an update on the MenAfriVac vaccine, which is the meningococcal A conjugate vaccine developed through the Meningitis Vaccine Project. Committee members said they were pleased to hear that 6 months after introduction of the vaccine into Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, these countries are reporting the lowest numbers of confirmed meningitis A cases ever recorded during an epidemic season.
With the 2010-2011 epidemic season largely over, surveillance data compiled by WHO show just four confirmed cases of meningitis A in Burkina Faso, the first country to introduce the vaccine nationwide. Three of the four cases occurred in those from neighboring Togo who crossed the border for medical care, and the fourth case was a citizen of Burkina Faso who had not received the new vaccine. No confirmed cases were reported in Mali, whereas four cases were reported in Niger, all in unvaccinated citizens. — by Colleen Zacharyczuk
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