Scientists of Australia have developed a vaccine to protect against lethal meningitis B, and early trials have shown that the new vaccine could prevent the illness in more than 80 per cent of teenagers.
Meningitis B is specifically dangerous for children, leading to 120 deaths in the UK every year.
Currently the jab for meningitis C is available but there is no vaccine for this strain.
Scientists at the University of Western Australia are of the opinion that the vaccine could be widely available within five years, the Daily Mail says.
The trial was conducted on 539 teenagers, and the researcher reached at the conclusion that just over 80 per cent were completely protected against the disease. These teenagers were given three doses of the vaccine for a period of over six months.
After this researchers measured whether their immune system was able to combat the meningitis bacteria.
"It's really important that we protect against this disease. It's so hard to recognize early on and then it progresses so rapidly, it's a matter of hours," Peter Richmond lead author of the study has been quoted as saying.
Every year nearly 1,200 new cases of meningitis B sprung up.
1 in every 10 victims die and another 15 per cent are left with permanent disabilities. In this disease commonly limbs have to be amputated due to blood poisoning.
The infection makes inflamed membranes around the spinal cord and brain.
The symptoms of the disease include a severe headache, vomiting, a rash, sensitivity to light and a stiff neck.
Researchers are of the opinion that the vaccine, developed by drugs' firm Pfizer, will be on the sale within the next three to five years.
But another drug major, Novartis, may bring the vaccine early.
It has already applied to the European drugs regulatory body for a license for its jab following successful results earlier this year.
After getting approval, the vaccine would be possibly given to babies from the age of two months with a booster every year.
Presently a vaccine for meningitis C has been given to babies and teenagers since 1999, and the vaccine is given credit for saving hundreds of lives.
But researcher has not become able to find a jab for meningitis B so far.
The reasons for this could be that the meningitis B has many strains of bacteria and the vaccine would need to provide a safeguard against all of them.
The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has been published this study.
--with inputs from ANI
|
|
Comments:
