Newer Meningitis Vaccine Appears Safe And Effective For Infants

A vaccine not yet licensed in the United States produces immunity against four strains of meningococcal disease and is well tolerated when administered to infants, according to a study in the January 9/16 issue of JAMA. It is estimated that 1,400 to 2,800 cases of invasive meningococcal disease occur in the United States each year, and that ten to 14 percent of people who contract the disease will die. The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices now advises immunization with a tetravalent vaccine (serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y) for all 11- to 18-year-olds. However, the currently licensed vaccine is poorly immunogenic in infancy, when the highest rates of disease are observed, according to background information in the article. Matthew D. Snape, F.R.A.C.P., of the Oxford Vaccine Group, University of Oxford, England, and colleagues conducted a randomized controlled study to determine the immunogenicity of a novel tetravalent meningococcal vaccine known as MenACWY in infants. Unlike the currently licensed vaccine, MenACWY uses a natural mutant of the diphtheria toxin.