Prospects for Vaccine Prevention of Meningococcal Infection

Abstract

SUMMARY Neisseria meningitidis is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in the United States and worldwide. A serogroup A/C/W-135/Y polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine has been licensed in the United States since 1981 but has not been used universally outside of the military. On 14 January 2005, a polysaccharide conjugate vaccine that covers meningococcal serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y was licensed in the United States for 11- to 55-year-olds and is now recommended for the routine immunization of adolescents and other high-risk groups. This review covers the changing epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the United States, issues related to vaccine prevention, and recommendations on the use of the new vaccine.

A Safety and Immunogenicity Study of a Single Dose of a Meningococcal (Groups A, C, W, and Y) Polysaccharide Diphtheria Toxoid Conjugate Vaccine (MEN-ACWY-D) in Healthy Japanese Participants

“…Prevention with an effective vaccine is therefore important. The quadrivalent meningococcal polysaccharide diphtheria toxoid conjugate vaccine (Men-ACWY-D) has been shown both in clinical trials and during a >10-year period following licensure in the US to be safe and immunogenic, providing durable protection against IMD (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). It was licensed in Japan in July 2014 (9, 10).…”

The aetiology of acute community acquired bacterial meningitis in children and adults in Maputo, Mozambique

“…Community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis is a severe and life-threatening infection if not diagnosed early and treated appropriately [1]. Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus influenza type b and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the most common causes of acute bacterial meningitis in developing countries [2].…”

“…Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus influenza type b and Streptococcus pneumoniae are the most common causes of acute bacterial meningitis in developing countries [2]. Bacterial meningitis caused by H. influenza type b and S. pneumoniae have been declining in the developed countries as result of the introduction of specific vaccines [1].…”

“…Serogroups A, B, C, W135, Y, and X are associated with seasonal outbreaks [3]. Genetic recombination has been reported to play a role in the emergence of these outbreaks [1]. In the African meningitis belt, epidemic meningococcal infections caused an estimated 700,000 cases with a mortality rate of 10% in the last 10 years [7].…”

“…meningitidis, a Gram-negative diplococcus, is a major cause of community-acquired acute bacterial meningitis worldwide [1,3,4,5]. This bacterium is divided into 13 serogroups based on the antigenicity of the polysaccharide capsule 6].…”