Tetravalent meningococcal vaccination for infants

Abstract

Evaluation of: Snape MD, Perrett KP, Ford KJ et al. Immunogenicity of a tetravalent meningococcal glycoconjugate vaccine in infants: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 299(2), 173–184 (2008).

Despite the advances in pediatric vaccinology during the last few decades, Neisseria meningitidis continues to be a threat to young infants, children and adolescents, in whom meningitis and septicemia are responsible for serious disease, mortality and long-term sequelae. Pure polysaccharides vaccines are poorly immunogenic in infants and children, and conjugation with protein carriers offer the best means for reaching protective antibody levels in these populations. However, no effective conjugate vaccines containing the five most common serogroups (A, B, C, W-135 and Y) are available and the best options reached at this moment, which contain more than one serogroup, are the tetravalent vaccines for older children and adolescents. The paper under evaluation describes the results of a multicenter prospective clinical trial performed in the UK and Canada with the use of a novel tetravalent glycoconjugate meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY) administered to young infants. The study showed that this vaccine was immunogenic and well tolerated. This study arises as a light on the horizon in the fight against this devastating disease.

Keywords::

• immunogenicity
• infant
• meningococcal disease
• Neisseria meningitidis
• tetravalent conjugate vaccine

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.