New meningitis B vaccine to be trialled on 3,000 students
02.11.10
STUDENTS are being called upon to help test a potential new meningitis vaccine.
They're being invited to take part in a clinical research study which will examine whether use of two vaccines will lead to herd immunity in the rest of the unvaccinated population.
The trials are taking place in nine cities across the country, with 3,000 students aged 18 to 24 being sought.
Students are particularly at risk of becoming infected due to the close proximity of other students in shared accommodation.
There is still no widespread vaccine in existence for Meningitis B, which is the most common form of the disease and also one of the most deadly.
It can kill in under four hours but, due to its complex nature, it has been the hardest to immunise against.
The two vaccines being looked at are MenACWY and rMenB.
MenACWY, also called Menveo, protects against the A, C, W-135 and Y strains and is already licensed and recommended for people travelling to certain countries where these strains are common.
The second vaccine, rMenB, is an experimental vaccine being developed by pharmaceutical company Novartis to protect against meningitis B.
Monitoring the students at six study clinics across a 12 month period will allow researchers to see if the vaccines can stop the meningitis-causing bacteria from colonising the throat.
Meningococcal meningitis is caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, which around 25% or more of young adults carry in their throats.
Of these carriers, only 1 in 10,000 who are colonised will go on to develop meningitis.
The nine study centres are Bristol, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Middlesborough, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield and Southampton.
For further details, visit http://www.studentvaccine.co.uk (external link).
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