The vaccine against meningitis B used in Spain is effective in children under five years of age, according to a study that indicates that children who have received it have a 71% lower risk of contracting the disease.
Led by Jesús Castilla Catalán, from the Institute of Public and Labor Health of Navarra, the research indicates that the 4CMenB vaccine, which is marketed as Bexsero, also protects against serogroups other than B.
Serogroup B meningococcus is the leading cause of invasive meningococcal disease in Spain, the most frequent presentations of which are meningitis and sepsis.
The observational study published by the New England Journal of Medicine was carried out throughout Spain with data, between October 2015 and September 2016, of 1,530 minors between two months and five years of age.
Among them, there were 306 confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease in that period in Spain and the rest belonged to various control groups, Castilla Catalán told Efe.
The serogroup B meningococcal vaccine was approved with immunogenicity studies -it happens with rare diseases- and it began to be used in Spain in children in 2014.
Although it was not included in the public vaccination calendar, it was recommended by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics and was paid for by families.
However, there were no conclusive data on clinical efficacy and effectiveness, because the low incidence of meningococcal disease required the study of a large population over a long period of time in order to demonstrate the protection of the vaccine in preventing cases of disease. .
The results of the study indicate that those vaccinated with the complete regimen, of two to three doses depending on the age at which the first one is received, had a 71% lower risk of having meningococcal B disease than those who were not vaccinated, says the investigator.
The effectiveness estimates were 76% when the vaccine was evaluated against all cases of invasive meningococcal disease regardless of the serogroup, which – says Castilla Catalán – is not surprising because the vaccine is directed at antigens that are not exclusive to the meningococcus b.
The vaccine has recently been included in the vaccination calendar for its administration financed by the National Health System, for which the results of this investigation have been taken into account, added Castilla Catalán.
The study, coordinated by the Institute of Public and Labor Health of Navarra, included the participation of the Ministry of Health, the Carlos III Health Institute and the epidemiology and vaccine services of all the autonomous communities. EFE
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