The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a second vaccine to protect against serogroup B meningococcal disease.
Novartis' Bexsero® is to be used in individuals between the ages of 10 and 25, and could help prevent the potentially deadly infection, a National Meningitis Association (NMA) news release reported.
"I have heard over and over from parents that they thought their children were fully protected because they were vaccinated with the currently recommended vaccine, which protects against four major strains of meningococcal disease, but does not protect against serogroup B," said NMA President Lynn Bozof. "Now that we have the tools to fully protect our children, we encourage policymakers to do the right thing and recommend these vaccines for adolescents who are at high risk for infection."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to make its first recommendation for use of serogroup B vaccines in February 2015. Since 2005, the CDC has recommended a conjugate vaccine that protects against serogroups A, C, W and Y between the ages of 11 and 12 with a booster at the age of 16.
There have been several recent outbreaks of serogroup B meningococcal disease on college campuses, and this strain accounts for about one-third of U.S. cases. These events prompted the FDA to speed up the process of approving new vaccines to protect against the infection.
"As a percentage of all of the students that populate our country's college campuses, we realize that these deaths represent a small number, but when it is your child, any number above zero is unacceptable - especially if it could have been prevented," said Stephen Ross who lost his 19-year-old daughter, Stephanie, a sophomore at Drexel University.
Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can lead to death within hours. Early symptoms include a sudden high fever, stiff neck, nausea and vomiting, confusion, seizures, sensitivity to light, loss of appetite and sometimes skin rashes, MayoClinic reported.
