New vaccine brightens hope for meningitis elimination in Nigeria
IN a historic move, Nigeria has become the first country in the world to roll out a new vaccine called MEN5CV, recommended by the World Health Organisation ( WHO), which protects people against strains of the meningococcus bacteria.
The revolutionary new vaccine offers a shield against the five major strains of the meningococcal bacteria ( A, C, W, Y and X) in a single shot. All five strains cause meningitis and blood poisoning. This provides broader protection than the current vaccine used in Africa, which is only effective against the A strain.
The vaccine and emergency vaccination activities are funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which funds the global meningitis vaccine stockpile and supports lower- income countries with routine vaccination against meningitis.
Meningitis is a serious infection that leads to the inflammation of the membranes ( meninges) that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord. There are multiple causes of meningitis, including viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic pathogens. Symptoms often include headache, fever and stiff neck. Bacterial meningitis is the most serious, can also result in septicaemia ( blood poisoning), and can disable or kill within 24 hours of contacting it.
For several decades, epidemic meningitis has been a major public health problem in Africa’s meningitis belt, especially Sub- Saharan Africa, where 26 states in Nigeria account for over 50 per cent of the global burden of meningitis.
Following another large- scale outbreak of meningitis between 2016/ 2017, which recorded over 14,000 cases, and about 1,166 deaths, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control ( NCDC) collaborated with states within the meningitis belt to drastically reduce the number of suspected cases to less than a thousand, and fatality rate to 5 per cent.
In 2022/ 2023, Nigeria recorded 2,765 suspected and 303 confirmed cases with 190 deaths across 140 local councils in 30 States, including the Federal Capital Territory. Consequently, cases of Meningitis in the past few years have been on a downward trend. In October 2022, NCDC also launched a roadmap aimed at eliminating meningitis by 2030, which envisioned a world free of meningitis.
A recent outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis ( meningococcus) serogroup C outbreak led to 1,742 suspected meningitis cases, including 101 confirmed cases and 153 deaths in seven of 36 Nigerian states, especially in Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, Zamfara between October 1, 2023 and March 11, 2024, according to the World Health Organization ( WHO). To quell the deadly outbreak, a vaccination campaign was rolled out last month to initially reach more than one million people aged 1- 29 years.
Though meningitis affects all ages, the most at- risk persons are young children, especially those under or not immunised, individuals living in overcrowded households, individuals who smoke, individuals exposed due to poor ventilation and indoor air pollution such as from cooking with wood, or charcoal, those with poor hygienic practices and health care workers who provide direct patient care, clean, and disinfect contaminated materials or handle biological specimens without using personal protective equipment and/ or adhering to infection prevention control protocols.
With just six years left to kick out meningitis globally, experts are of the view that the MenFive vaccine, which has just been introduced in Nigeria, will be a game changer in the nation's efforts to ensure the elimination of the scourge by 2030.
Speaking with The Guardian, a Professor of Virology and the former Vice Chancellor of Redeemers University, Ede, Prof Oyewale Tomori noted that Meningitis is a debilitating disease estimated to cause 236,000 deaths and 2.51 million cases globally.
He stated that one in five survivors of the disease can develop long- lasting neurological disorders and disabilities, including loss of hearing, deafness, and also loss of limbs adding that Meningitis is the second- highest cause of neurological disorders in Africa.
Tomori, who observed that Nigeria contributes substantially to this devastation, said, ' We all remember the 1996 Kano meningitis outbreak which brought the Pfizer company to Nigeria to conduct an unethical clinical trial with an unapproved drug, known as Trovan'. . He explained that the newly approved MEN5CV or Menfive vaccine contains the five antigens representing the five bacteria meningococcal stains ( A, C, W, Y, and X) associated with meningitis outbreaks in Nigeria and the other 25 countries in Africa’s meningitis belt. According to him, ' Menfive is the first vaccine to protect against all five strains of the meningococcal bacteria that cause meningitis, hence the name MEN5CV or Menfive vaccine.
He said: “Our country is the first country in Africa's meningitis belt to roll out the new vaccine. It is a smart move that will protect, especially, our children, and significantly reduce the burden of meningitis disease in Nigeria. Initially, the new MEN5CV vaccine will be used to address outbreaks.
“It is hoped that starting in 2025 it will be used as a preventive health intervention to protect all children from the age of two years from the ravages and debilitation of meningitis. In this way, Nigeria can look forward to achieving the elimination of bacterial meningitis by the year 2030.
“The rollout of the new vaccine is one of the ingredients needed to achieve renewed hope for our country, and all those involved deserve our commendation. To achieve the goal of eliminating meningitis by 2030, we all ( parents, community, government, media, and the private sector) must get involved by increasing awareness about the vaccine, and ensure that each Nigerian child receives the Men5 vaccine, and no Nigerian child is left out”, he added.