Neisseria meningitidis B vaccines

• Published in: Expert review of vaccines Vol. 10; no. 9; pp. 1337 - 1351
• Main Authors: Panatto, Donatella, Amicizia, Daniela, Lai, Piero Luigi, Gasparini, Roberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01.09.2011; Expert Reviews Ltd; Informa Healthcare
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Antigens, Bacterial - genetics; Antigens, Bacterial - immunology; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Economics; Europe; Genome, Bacterial; Health aspects; Humans; Immune Evasion; Incidence; Infant; Infection; Invasive meningococcal disease; Meningitis; Meningitis, Meningococcal - epidemiology; Meningitis, Meningococcal - immunology; Meningitis, Meningococcal - prevention & control; meningococcal B vaccines; meningococcal disease; Meningococcal Vaccines - administration & dosage; Meningococcal Vaccines - genetics; Meningococcal Vaccines - immunology; meningococcus B; Neisseria meningitides; Neisseria meningitidis; Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B - drug effects; Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B - genetics; Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B - immunology; New Zealand; prevention of meningococcal disease; Public Health; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Treatment Outcome; United States; Vaccination; Vaccines; Vaccines, Conjugate - administration & dosage; Vaccines, Conjugate - genetics; Vaccines, Conjugate - immunology; Young Adult; New Zealand; United States; Europe
• ISSN: 1476-0584; 1744-8395
• DOI: 10.1586/erv.11.103

Invasive infections caused by Neisseria meningitidis are a serious public health problem worldwide and have a heavy economic impact. The incidence of invasive disease due to Neisseria meningitidis is highly variable according to geographical area and serogroup distribution. Since the introduction of vaccination programs with conjugated vaccine C in children and adolescents, most cases of invasive meningococcal disease in developed countries have been caused by meningococcus B. It is important to underline that invasive meningococcal disease will not be controlled until safe and effective vaccines for meningococcal B are available and widely used. The aims of this article are to describe the most recent developments in meningococcal B vaccines and to discuss how these vaccines can contribute to containing meningococcal disease.