Meningitis Research Foundation welcomes government committee support for a teenage vaccination against meningitis - United Kingdom

The Meningitis Research Foundation is an inaugural member of the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations

Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) funded research has contributed to new advice from JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) to the UK Government recommending a new Meningitis C (MenC) vaccine booster in early adolescence to maintain long term protection against meningitis and septicaemia caused by meningococcal C disease. 

Chris Head, Chief Executive of MRF, said: “We warmly welcome this advice to ensure cases of the disease do not increase again. MenC vaccination has been a great success. Since its introduction in 1999, MenC disease has fallen rapidly with only 20 cases of the disease recorded in 2010/2011. Over 10,000 cases have been prevented in the last 11 years and more than 1,000 lives saved. We have campaigned to see this success continue with the introduction of an adolescent boost. It is very important to prevent carriage of the bacteria in this age group, which plays a key role in circulating the bug.”

MenC’s success has largely been down to the targeted ‘catch-up’ campaign vaccinating all children and teenagers under the age of 18 and subsequently up to 25 years of age reducing carriage of the bacteria in the population. Children vaccinated since the original campaign are up to 12 years of age now, and although protected during their infancy, they are unlikely to remain immune to MenC in their teens and into adulthood. 
To prevent waning immunity in this age group the committee recommends a teenage boost. To achieve this, they recommend moving one of two MenC infant doses. The research shows protection for very young children would not be affected. 

Chris Head added “We must continue monitoring and surveillance to ensure that the current very low levels of MenC disease are maintained and there is no upsurge in cases of MenY which have risen slightly in recent years. We urge the committee to make an early recommendation on implementation so that this extra level of protection against this deadly disease is delivered as soon as possible.”

For more information about the Meningitis Research Foundation visit their website. 

 

Source: The Meningitis Research Foundation, United Kingdom.