New meningitis vaccine to be rolled out in Africa next month
09.11.10
A VACCINE to protect against Meningitis A will be given to millions of people in Africa next month.
The mass vaccination is the culmination of 10 years' work by an international consortium to develop a vaccine which is cheap enough to be used on such a large number of people.
MenAfriVac provides protection against the A strain of meningococcal meningitis, which is prevalent in Africa's 'meningitis belt'.
The scourge of meningitis A terrifies communities at this time of the year but next months will mark a significant step in the fight against the disease.
Each dose will cost 40 cents and the entire research and development cost of this project was $70million – five to 10 times less than typical vaccines.
During next month's campaign, backed by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, the government of Burkina Faso will vaccinate everyone aged one to 29 – some 12.5million.
Mali and Niger will each vaccine 4million people in the same age bracket.
Kate Rowland, Head of Development at Meningitis UK, said: "We're pleased that an affordable vaccine is finally available. It will make a huge difference in Africa and undoubtedly save thousands, if not millions, of lives.
"The Meningitis A strain is very rare in the UK but it's encouraging to see progress being made around the world."
For further information on the vaccination initiative in Africa, you can read the full article on the Nature website [external link]
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in England has played a pivotal part in evaluating the new vaccine at stage of its development. The Health Protection Agency press release [external link] explains more about the important role they played.
MeningitisUK · Registered Charity No.1076774
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