Meningitis vaccine to be tested

2006-03-15 09:44

London - A vaccine against meningitis A will be tested and if all goes well could be available in them next few years in Africa, where the disease kills thousands of people each year, researchers said on Wednesday.

The Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) and the privately-owned Serum Institute of India Ltd said Phase 1 trials of the vaccine had paved the way for tests in Gambia and Mali later this year after approval from regulatory authorities.

Dr F Marc LaForce, the director of MVP, said: "If all continues to go as well in testing, the new vaccine which will be priced at about 40 cents per dose could be introduced in Africa within the next three to four years."

Seattle-based MVP was a partnership between the World Health Organisation (WHO) and PATH, an international, non-profit group that promoted good health in countries around the globe.

Brain, spinal cord

Meningitis was an infection of the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It was spread from person to person by sneezing, coughing and living in close quarters such as dormitories and military barracks.

According to the WHO, about 5-10% of patients die from the illness, usually within 24-48 hours after symptoms begin.

There were various strains of meningococci bacteria but most meningitis outbreaks resulted from serogroups A, B and C.

Group A was responsible for cyclic epidemics in what was known as Africa's "meningitis belt" that stretched from Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia.

Patients with the illness could be treated with antibiotics. The disease could cause brain damage, hearing loss and learning disability.

Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, the chairman of the Serum Institute, which supplied vaccines to the WHO and in India, said the vaccine would also be available in India, where small outbreaks of the disease took place sporadically.

- Reuters