Create a vaccine for meningitis

A new vaccine can reduce the number of deaths caused by one of the most common meningitis in children. The current vaccination program only protects the body from a few types of bacteria that cause this disease.

A study by Chileans published in the medical journal The Lancet showed that there is much evidence that the new vaccine works for bacterial type B meningitis. About 2,000 cases of meningitis Type B in the UK every year, mostly under 5 years old.

The current UK meningococcal vaccination program is believed to have saved hundreds of lives in the last decade. However, type B bacteria is a difficult target for vaccine manufacturers because it is a collection of thousands of different strains of bacteria, making it difficult to create a vaccine against all of these bacteria.

Meningitis is one of the main causes of death in children.

So while the four major bacterial strains that cause meningitis already have a vaccine, there is no B-type bacterial vaccine. Infection that causes inflammation of the membranes of the brain and spinal cord still causes more than 100 deaths. every year, many children suffer from handicaps.

The scientists produced the 4CMenB vaccine by analyzing the genetic structure of thousands of strains of B-type bacteria, finding their common characteristics. There are encouraging results when injecting into toddlers and the latest research by Chilean university scientists shows the effectiveness of vaccination for children aged 11 to 11. 17 years old.

More than 60% of bacterial meningitis cases in Chile involve type B bacteria, but only 2 doses of vaccine can protect 100% from this type of bacteria.

The researchers said the vaccine could now be considered for national vaccination in many countries where this B-type bacterium is common including many countries in Europe and the United States.

Dr. Myron Christodoulides, a senior lecturer at Southampton University's Department of Microbiology, said that all type B bacteria that have been prevented by the vaccine are not yet verified.

He said: 'Previous studies have shown that 4CMenB vaccine provides significant protection when given to newborn babies, but this new study shows that it can also provide good protection for adolescent people. year. However, there are still some questions to answer such as how many vaccines this vaccine can prevent, how long it will last and how it can prevent bacteria from spreading to others. indirectly protect people who do not get the vaccine '.

BBC says scientists have been creating a vaccine against this bacterium for years but this is still a challenge because the membrane of this bacterium is similar to the structure of neurons in humans and bacteria are often very skillful in changing and adapting.