Nigeria has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the world’s inaugural country to introduce a new meningitis vaccine, known as Men5CV, endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
This development holds particular significance for countries like Nigeria, where various serogroups of meningitis are prevalent. The newly introduced vaccine employs the same technology as the meningitis A conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac®), which successfully eradicated meningococcal A epidemics in Nigeria.
Funding for the vaccine and emergency vaccination initiatives comes from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which supports the global meningitis vaccine stockpile and aids lower-income nations in routine meningitis vaccination campaigns.
According to WHO, the groundbreaking vaccine provides robust protection against the five primary strains of meningococcal bacteria (A, C, W, Y, and X) in a single dose. These strains collectively cause meningitis and septicemia.
Notably, the new vaccine offers broader coverage compared to the current vaccine utilized in much of Africa, which is only effective against the A strain.
Experts anticipate that the introduction of the new vaccine has the potential to significantly decrease meningitis cases and propel advancements in combating the disease.
“Meningitis is an old and deadly foe, but this new vaccine holds the potential to change the trajectory of the disease, preventing future outbreaks and saving many lives,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“Nigeria’s rollout brings us one step closer to our goal to eliminate meningitis by 2030.”
“Northern Nigeria, particularly the states of Jigawa, Bauchi and Yobe were badly hit by the deadly outbreak of meningitis, and this vaccine provides health workers with a new tool to both stop this outbreak but also put the country on a path to elimination,” said Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate of the Nigerian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
“We’ve done a lot of work preparing health workers and the health system for the rollout of this new vaccine. We got invaluable support from our populations despite this fasting period and from our community leaders especially the Emir of Gumel in Jigawa state who personally launched the vaccination campaign in the state. We’ll be monitoring progress closely and hopefully expanding the immunization in the coming months and years to accelerate progress.”
The development of this new multivalent conjugate vaccine spanned a period of 13 years and was the result of a collaboration between PATH and the Serum Institute of India. Vital funding from the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office played a crucial role in its creation.
Nigeria is among the 26 hyper-endemic countries for meningitis in Africa, situated within the region known as the African Meningitis Belt. Last year, there was a significant increase of 50% in reported annual meningitis cases across Africa.
In Nigeria, an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) serogroup C occurred, resulting in 1742 suspected cases of meningitis, including 101 confirmed cases and 153 fatalities in seven out of 36 Nigerian states (Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, Zamfara) between October 1, 2023, and March 11, 2024.
To combat this deadly outbreak, a vaccination campaign was conducted from March 25 to March 28, 2024, initially targeting over one million individuals aged 1-29 years.
Meningitis is a severe infection characterized by inflammation of the membranes (meninges) surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal cord.
Various pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, can cause meningitis. Common symptoms include headache, fever, and neck stiffness.
Bacterial meningitis, the most severe form, can also lead to blood poisoning (septicaemia) and can prove fatal or cause serious disability within 24 hours of infection.