Predicted strain coverage of a meningococcal multicomponent vaccine (4CMenB) in Europe: a qualitative and quantitative assessment

Persistence of antibodies in adolescents 18−24 months after immunization with one, two, or three doses of 4CMenB meningococcal serogroup B vaccine

“…The actual extent of protection against circulating strains of meningococcal serogroup B remains to be determined, but preliminary estimates from MATS indicate that a majority of strains will be covered. 13,14 Serogroup B meningococcal disease remains a major health concern for parents of very young children, who represent the main target group for the vaccine, but also for adolescents and young adults who are at risk in a second peak of disease incidence. 1 Furthermore, the importance of a serogroup B vaccine for adolescents may come both from direct protection afforded to the individual vaccinee, and also herd effects of mass immunization affecting not only vaccinees but also other age groups.…”

A phase II randomized controlled trial of a multicomponent meningococcal serogroup B vaccine, 4CMenB, in infants (II)

“…13,14 Applying MATS to over 1000 strains isolated across eight European countries predicted that the current 4CMenB formulation would cover 78% (95% CI 63-90) of all strains, and that over half of the strains would be targeted by more than one antigen. 15 This is probably a conservative estimate as the MATS technique does not allow any estimate of synergies due to different antigens, nor does it take into account potential immune responses for minor components such as additional nonPorA proteins in the OMV.…”

Background Paper for the update of meningococcal vaccination recommendations in Germany: use of the serogroup B vaccine in persons at increased risk for meningococcal disease

“…2 shows that fHbp and NHBA are most commonly expressed. Overall, in 2007-2008 18.9 % of the strains expressed none of the vaccine antigens, 27.5 % expressed only one vaccine antigen (fHbp: 15.2 %; NHBA: 11.5 %; PorA: 0.5 %) and 53.9 % expressed at least 2 antigens [42]. The expression of more than one antigen can theoretically induce a more robust activation of complement and may decrease the risk for mutations leading to variants not susceptible to vaccine-induced antibodies.…”