The World Health Organization (WHO) has approved administration
of meningitis vaccine, which does not have to be stored in fridges or iceboxes,
to babies across Africa. The MenAfriVac has received thumbs up for use in mass
immunization programs under the Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP).
WHO's approval means the vaccine meets international safety
and quality standards and can be safely used in children under a year old. It
also paves way for UN agencies to purchase the vaccine for use in routine
immunization programs.
Meningitis
Meninges are the three layers of membrane that cover the brain and infection of the cerebrospinal fluid between them causes meningitis the disease of the meninges.
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The vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India was launched in 2010 and has been administered to more than 215 million people in the 15 countries of the African meningitis belt including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan and Togo.
Marie-Pierre Preziosi, the head of MVP, said, "Initial
mass vaccination campaigns with MenAfriVac have been highly effective in
reducing the number of meningitis A cases. Until now, however, the vaccine has
only been administered in children and young adults between the ages of one and
29, and unprotected infants could undo the progress being made. Epidemics will
return when rising numbers of unprotected newborns become a larger proportion
of the total population over time. With this decision, health officials will be
able to ensure that population-wide protection is sustained by routinely
immunizing infants."
Source: Medindia
Source: Medindia
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