Side effect fights STD

NEW Zealand researchers studying a mass vaccination campaign against meningitis have found a surprising side effect – the shots also offered moderate protection against gonorrhoea, a sexually transmitted infection that is causing global alarm.

The findings, published in The Lancet medical journal, mark the first time an immunisation has shown any protection against gonorrhoea and point to new avenues in the search for a vaccine.

“This new research could be game-changing,” said Linda Glennie, an expert at the Meningitis Research Foundation.