New strain hits Africa.(meningitis)

2002 OCT 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The emergence of a newly epidemic strain of meningitis in West Africa earlier this year has given renewed urgency to the search for a more effective and affordable vaccine.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners met in Burkina Faso at the end of September 2002 for urgent consultations to prepare for the likelihood of further outbreaks of the new strain in Africa, possibly as soon as next year.

Meningitis occurs periodically in epidemics that sweep through the "meningitis belt" of Africa in countries stretching from the West African coast to the Horn of Africa in the east. An existing vaccine is effective against the strains A and C of the bacteria, which have thus far been responsible for most meningitis epidemics in the meningitis belt. However, it does not provide protection against a newly emerging epidemic strain known as W135.

An outbreak of W135 in Burkina Faso, which began in February and continued until May this year, infected more than 12,000 people and killed almost 1500. This was the first time W135 had been identified as the primary cause of a major epidemic of meningitis in Africa.

"This disease is a killer of African children," said Dr. David Heymann, executive director of communicable diseases at WHO. "We have to find a way to get inexpensive, safe and effective vaccines to save young lives from this new strain."

The only currently available vaccine that does protect against W135 is a "tetravalent" meningitis vaccine, providing protection against four strains of meningitis, including A, C and W135. This vaccine is normally sold for at least US$5 a ...