New meningitis vaccine could stop outbreaks

Health officials say a new meningitis vaccine will help prevent epidemics in Africa for the first time, revolutionizing how doctors fight outbreaks of the deadly disease.

Meningitis, a potentially fatal infection of the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, strikes more than 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia. Last year, there were about 80,000 cases including more than 4,000 deaths.

While rich countries have used meningitis vaccines for years, those available in the developing world cannot be used to prevent outbreaks because they don’t last very long. They also cannot be used in children under 2, who are most vulnerable to the disease. Until now, health officials have only immunized people in an emergency situation once an outbreak starts.

Last week, the World Health Organization approved a new vaccine that could stop outbreaks before they even begin.

“This is pretty close to a revolution in terms of controlling meningitis,” Daniel Berman, deputy director of Medecin Sans Frontiere’s Access for Essential Medicines campaign, told the Associated Press on Wednesday. “With this new vaccine, we will be able to plan ahead to prevent outbreaks.”