British and Canadian researchers have found that a new type of meningitis vaccine boosts the immunity of infants as young as six months, offering a potential new weapon against this deadly disease.
The vaccine, is aimed at four of the most common strains of meningococcal meningitis, a potentially fatal bacterial disease involving inflammation of membranes around the brain and spinal cord. It primarily affects babies, particularly those aged 3 to 12 months.
The new vaccine replaces an older vaccine currently licensed in the United States, which offers poor protection for infants, who are most at risk, according to Matthew Snape of Britain’s University of Oxford.“This vaccine offers the hope that the number of young children experiencing this devastating illness can be dramatically reduced,” Snape said in an e-mail.
In December 1.2 million doses of the vaccine was recalled in Canada and The U.S. because of contamination risks.
SOURCE
