Sodiq Ojuroungbe
In what can be described as a historic, significant step, Nigeria has become the first country in Africa and the world to roll out a new meningitis vaccine called Men5CV
Announcing the breakthrough on its website, the World Health Organisation noted that the newly developed 5-in-1 meningitis vaccine would protect against five major bacterial strains responsible for meningitis epidemics in Africa.
A health website, Healthline, described meningitis as an infection that causes inflammation of the membranes (meninges), surrounding and protecting the brain and spinal cord.
It highlighted symptoms to include headache, fever, and stiff neck, which are exacerbated by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other parasites, and that bacterial meningitis, the most serious form, can kill or disable a person within 24 hours of infection.
Shedding light on the vaccine, WHO stated that Nigeria is one of Africa’s 26 meningitis hyper-endemic countries, and added that there was a 50 per cent jump in annual meningitis cases reported across Africa.
According to WHO, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, funds vaccine and emergency vaccination activities and also funds the global meningitis vaccine stockpile as well as supports lower-income countries with routine vaccination against meningitis.
The health agency noted that the new vaccine offers a powerful shield against the five major strains of the meningococcal bacteria (A, C, W, Y and X) in a single shot.
Also, it is said to have the potential to significantly reduce meningitis cases and advance progress in defeating meningitis, especially in Nigeria, where multiple serogroups are prevalent.
The new vaccine uses the same technology as the meningitis A conjugate vaccine (MenAfriVac®), which wiped out meningococcal A epidemics in Nigeria.
PUNCH Healthwise reports that the new multivalent conjugate vaccine had been in the making for 13 years and was based on a partnership between PATH and the Serum Institute of India.
Financing from the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was critical to its development.
The WHO Director General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said, “Meningitis is an old and deadly foe, but this new vaccine holds the potential to change the trajectory of the disease, preventing future outbreaks and saving many lives. Nigeria’s rollout brings us one step closer to our goal to eliminate meningitis by 2030.”
Also, Nigeria’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, said, “Northern Nigeria, particularly the states of Jigawa, Bauchi, and Yobe, were badly hit by the deadly outbreak of meningitis, and this vaccine provides health workers with a new tool to both stop this outbreak and put the country on a path to elimination.
“We’ve done a lot of work preparing health workers and the health system for the rollout of this new vaccine. We got invaluable support from our populations despite this fasting period and from our community leaders especially the Emir of Gumel in Jigawa state who personally launched the vaccination campaign in the state. We’ll be monitoring progress closely and hopefully expanding the immunization in the coming months and years to accelerate progress.”
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recently said that Nigeria recorded 190 meningitis-related deaths across 140 Local Government Areas between October 2022 and September 2023.
Meanwhile, an outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis (meningococcus) serogroup C outbreak led to 1742 suspected meningitis cases, including 101 confirmed cases and 153 deaths in seven states – Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Katsina, Yobe, Zamfara, between October 1, 2023 and March 11, 2024.
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