Authors' objectives: Neisseria meningitidis is a pathogenic bacterium that colonizes the mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract in a significant proportion of the population and is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children and young adults, presenting an important public health problem. To control outbreaks caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B, vaccines have been used specifically for each of the strains responsible for each of the outbreaks. The vaccine against the strain causing the epidemic in New Zealand, and those created by reverse vaccinology were the latest lines of research aimed at creating a universal vaccine. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of vaccines against serogroup B meningococci, specifically the strain B: 4: P: 1.7b, 4 synthesized from outer membrane proteins and those created by reverse vaccinology. Nine clinical trials were selected, of which only 4 were of adequate or high quality. The risk groups for priority vaccination in case of an epidemic were not represented in these trials. Immunogenicity results analysed indicate that the vaccine would be effective against an epidemic solely caused by the strain contained (74-76% children sero-responsive against the New Zealand strain), but not against other heterologous strains such as the Norwegian (16% sero-responsive children). Also, in adults, the percentage of sero-response against the New Zealand strain was between 1.6 and 1.8 timeshigher in the intervention group than in the group vaccinated with the Norwegian strain (p <0.05). However, the methodological limitations and the absence of final results (prevalence or incidence) make it difficult to evaluate the real effectiveness of the vaccine. The safety and tolerability of the studied vaccines could be considered clinically acceptable given the high risk of serious disease and death associated with Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B. Local reactions of mild severity and short duration predominated.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.aetsa.org/publicacion/vacuna-frente-a-neisseria-meningitidis-serogrupo-b/

Year Published: 2011

URL for published report: https://www.aetsa.org/download/publicaciones/antiguas/AETSA_2009-02-1_Vacuna_Neisseria.pdf

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: Spain

Organisation Name: Andalusian Health Technology Assessment Area

Contact Address: Area de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias Sanitarias de Andalucia (AETSA) Avda. Innovación, s/n Edificio Arena 1. Sevilla (Spain) Tel. +34 955 006 309

Contact Name: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Contact Email: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Copyright: Andalusian Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AETSA)