Nigeria has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by being the first nation globally to introduce a novel vaccine – Men5CV – endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to safeguard individuals against meningitis.
In a statement released on Friday, the World Health organization lauded the vaccine’s capability to shield against five strains of Meningococcus bacteria, hailing Nigeria’s accomplishment as historic.
The announcement outlined plans for health workers to kickstart an immunization initiative targeting a million individuals.
Funding for the vaccine and emergency vaccination campaigns is provided by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which not only supports the global meningitis vaccine stockpile but also aids lower-income countries in regular meningitis vaccination programs.
WHO identified Nigeria as one of the 26 African countries hyper-endemic for meningitis, situated within the region known as the African Meningitis Belt.
The statement highlighted a significant 50% surge in reported annual meningitis cases across Africa in 2023.
In a specific instance, Nigeria experienced an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) serogroup C, resulting in 1,742 suspected cases of meningitis, including 101 confirmed cases and 153 fatalities in seven states between October 2023 and March 2024: Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, and Zamfara.
To combat this dire situation, a vaccination campaign was swiftly implemented from March 25 to 28, 2024, targeting over a million individuals aged 1-29 years.
The statement emphasized the severity of meningitis as a critical infection leading to inflammation of the membranes surrounding and safeguarding the brain and spinal cord.
It underscored the diverse causes of meningitis, including viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic agents, with bacterial meningitis posing the most grave threat, potentially resulting in septicaemia within 24 hours, leading to severe disability or death.
Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, expressed that meningitis stands as a longstanding lethal adversary, emphasizing the transformative potential of the new vaccine in altering the disease’s trajectory, averting future outbreaks, and preserving numerous lives.
Moreover, the rollout in Nigeria represents a significant stride towards the goal of eradicating meningitis by 2030, as articulated by Ghebreyesus.
The innovative vaccine offers robust protection against the five primary strains of meningococcal bacteria – A, C, W, Y, and X – in a single administration, surpassing the current vaccine’s efficacy limited to the A strain.
The statement further elaborated on the vaccine’s capacity to notably reduce meningitis cases, advancing the global fight against this debilitating disease.
The collaborative effort behind the new multivalent conjugate vaccine, spanning over 13 years and involving a partnership between PATH and the Serum Institute of India, was acknowledged, with crucial financing from the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office.
The statement concluded by highlighting the pivotal role of the WHO in supporting the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) in combating the meningitis outbreak through various initiatives such as disease surveillance, case identification, testing, and management, as well as preparation for the new vaccine rollout.
