Roger J G Stevens Aberdeen

Results of a worldwide clinical trial of a new conjugate group C meningococcal vaccine have shown such favourable results that the British government plans to make it available this October, one year ahead of schedule. According to Frank Dobson, secretary of state for health, the vaccine will be available, providing the suppliers’ timetables are kept to and licensing, purchasing, and supply proceed smoothly.

The vaccine is active against group C meningococci bacteria, which cause meningitis in groups at high risk such as infants, teenagers, and young adults. The trial included over 20 000 people in these high risk age groups and showed that the vaccine was safe and conferred lasting immunity. Four pharmaceutical companies—Wyeth, Chiron, NAVA, and Pasteur-Merieux—have par-ticipated in the trial, and one has submitted an application for a product licence.

Current vaccines for group C meningococci are not effective in infants aged under 18 months, who represent the highest risk group. In the latest paper (Journal of Infectious Diseases 1999;179:1569-72) by Dr Peter Richmond and colleagues at London’s Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, the new vaccine is effective even in infants as young as 2 months when given as one initial priming injection containing 2 µg of meningococcal C polysaccharide, followed by a 10 µg polysaccharide booster.

In the United Kingdom, about 40% of all meningitis cases are caused by group C meningococci, with presentations often clustering at institutions such as schools and universities. Linda Glennie, medical information officer at the Meningitis Research Foundation, explains that “although this is excellent news, we should not be complacent because about 60% of cases are caused by the B strain. More research into developing a vaccine against group B meningococci is now needed.” The Meningitis Research Foundation funds research into meningitis and has recently launched an appeal to raise money for research into the group B strain of meningococcal meningitis.

The vaccine will be available for routine vaccination of all infants and young people aged 15-17 years this October as part of the current immunisation programme. In addition, a catch up vaccination programme is being planned for next year
to immunise children aged between 1 and 5 years and youngsters from other susceptible age groups who have not already received the vaccine. According to Mr Dobson, an existing and less effective vaccine will be made available to new students at university, particularly those who will live in halls of residence, and these students are being urged to be vaccinated before they leave for college or university in the autumn.