Meningitis vaccine raises hopes
The new vaccine could protect babies from the age of two months
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Wednesday, 09, Jan 2008 11:12
A new vaccine could protect babies from four strains of meningitis from just two months old, a new study has found.
Existing multiple-strain meningitis vaccines do not work in children under two years old.
Scientists studying the vaccine, Menveo, said it could protect infants as part of the routine immunisation package.
The researchers from Oxford University tested the Novartis-made vaccine in 400 British and Canadian children.
Results showed that it was well tolerated and generated high levels of immunogenicity in infants against the meningococcal strains A, C, W-135 and Y with a standard infant vaccination dosing schedule.
Study investigator Dr Andrew Pollard said: "These important data demonstrate that this new vaccine has the potential to protect infants as part of the routine infant vaccine schedule, expanding the potential coverage of currently available vaccines.
"At the moment there isn't much Y or W meningitis in the UK but it does still occur and if you were a parent whose child had died from one of these, you would wish for such a vaccine to be widely used."
He added: "As a paediatrician I don't want to see any child die of meningitis or have limbs amputated or suffer brain damage, so it would be great if coverage could be extended."
The study's findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Novartis plans to make regulatory submissions for Menveo in the European Union and US this year.