By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News
The only vaccine to protect against a deadly form of meningitis should not be introduced in the UK, the body that advises governments on immunisation says.
About 1,870 people contract meningitis B each year and one in 10 dies.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the vaccine, Bexsero, was not cost-effective and should not yet be adopted by the NHS.
Meningitis charities have been campaigning for it to be introduced.
It is mostly children under five who are at risk from the bacterial infection, which leads to inflammations of the brain and spinal cord.
Of those who survive a meningitis B infection, one in four is left with life altering after-effects such as brain damage or limb loss.
There are vaccines against other forms of meningitis, but the jab developed by Novartis is the only one thought to protect against meningitis B.
Tests have suggested the vaccine is effective against 73% of the
different strains of the disease. It was licensed for use in Europe in
January 2013.
However, there are questions about the effectiveness as very large trials would be needed to show how it affects the number of cases or how it would control the spread of the bacterium. So far no country has introduced the vaccine.
The JCVI said: “On the basis of the available evidence, routine infant or toddler immunisation using Bexsero is highly unlikely to be cost effective at any vaccine price based on the accepted threshold for cost effectiveness used in the UK and could not be recommended.”
Meningitis
The only vaccine to protect against a deadly form of meningitis should not be introduced in the UK, the body that advises governments on immunisation says.
About 1,870 people contract meningitis B each year and one in 10 dies.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the vaccine, Bexsero, was not cost-effective and should not yet be adopted by the NHS.
Meningitis charities have been campaigning for it to be introduced.
It is mostly children under five who are at risk from the bacterial infection, which leads to inflammations of the brain and spinal cord.
Of those who survive a meningitis B infection, one in four is left with life altering after-effects such as brain damage or limb loss.
There are vaccines against other forms of meningitis, but the jab developed by Novartis is the only one thought to protect against meningitis B.
Tests have suggested the vaccine is effective against 73% of the
different strains of the disease. It was licensed for use in Europe in
January 2013.However, there are questions about the effectiveness as very large trials would be needed to show how it affects the number of cases or how it would control the spread of the bacterium. So far no country has introduced the vaccine.
The JCVI said: “On the basis of the available evidence, routine infant or toddler immunisation using Bexsero is highly unlikely to be cost effective at any vaccine price based on the accepted threshold for cost effectiveness used in the UK and could not be recommended.”
Meningitis
- Meningitis is an infection of the meninges – the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.
- Meningococcal bacteria are common and carried harmlessly in the nose or throat by about 1 in 10 people.
- They are passed on through close contact.
- Anyone can get meningitis but babies and young children are most vulnerable.
- Symptoms include a high fever with cold hands and feet, agitation, confusion, vomiting and headaches.Cont. Reading
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