THERE鈥橲 a double dose of good news in the battle against meningitis this week. It has taken just six months for a cheap new vaccine against meningitis A to work its magic, reducing the number of new cases in west African trial zones to almost zero. And a new vaccine against meningitis B is showing promising results in Europe.
鈥淣o one who received the new vaccine six months ago has developed meningitis A鈥�
Meningitis A causes epidemics in the notorious from Senegal to Sudan, but none of the people who received six months ago in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger has developed the illness. People in Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria will receive shots this year as part of a to extend the treatment to all 25 countries affected, provided enough money can be raised.
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Meanwhile, in Europe, pharmaceutical firm Novartis has reported encouraging results in 1800 infants with what could be the first vaccine against . The company revealed last week that recipients of 鈥�4CMenB鈥� produced antibodies against strains that cause 80 per cent of meningitis B cases.