Nigeria is to become the first country to receive a groundbreaking new MenFive vaccine to combat meningitis outbreaks.

According to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations (GAVI), on Thursday, the vaccine shows promise in combating the current meningococcus C outbreak in the country.

GAVI said the vaccine, developed through a remarkable 13-year collaboration between PATH and the Serum Institute of India, with support from the UK Government, targeted five main strains of meningococcal meningitis, including the elusive serogroup X.

This means it can offer vital protection against a range of meningitis strains prevalent in Africa.

The director of High Impact Countries at Gavi, Tokunbo Oshin, said with outbreaks of infectious diseases on the rise worldwide, innovations such as MenFive were critical in helping the world fight back.

“Thanks to vaccines, we have eliminated large and disruptive outbreaks of meningitis A in Africa; now we have a tool to respond to other meningococcal meningitis serogroups that still cause large outbreaks resulting in long-term disability and deaths,” stated Mr Oshin.

He said the deployment of the MenFive vaccine aimed to address the immediate crisis and signalled a broader initiative to strengthen vaccination efforts in high-risk countries.

Mr Oshin noted that Gavi’s support for a multivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MMCV) programme would see the MenFive vaccine integrated into routine immunization programmes and outbreak response strategies.

He said the vaccine would be used to respond to an ongoing meningococcus C outbreak, targeting to vaccinate around a million children in six LGAs in Jigawa.

The LGAs are Babura, Birniwa, Gagarawa, Gumel, Maigatari, and Sule Tankarkar.

Meningitis outbreak in the country indicates that as of March 3, 82 LGAs across 22 states have reported 1,402 suspected cases with 101 confirmed cases and 123 fatalities, resulting in a case fatality rate of 9.4 per cent since October 2023.

The age group most affected by the outbreak is five to 14 years, followed by 15 to 29 years.

Notably, Yobe, Bauchi, Jigawa, Gombe, and Katsina collectively account for 94 per cent of the cases in the country.

(NAN)