Meningitis vaccine to be tested in Africa

LONDON, Mar 15 (Reuters) A vaccine against meningitis A will be tested and if all goes well could be available in the next few years in Africa where the disease kills thousands of people each year, researchers said today.

The Meningitis Vaccine Project (MVP) and the privately owned Serum Institute of India Ltd said Phase 1 trials of the vaccine have paved the way for tests in Gambia and Mali later this year following approval from regulatory authorities.

''If all continues to go as well in testing, the new vaccine which will be priced at about 40 cents per dose, could be introduced in Africa within the next three to four years,'' Dr F Marc LaForce, the director of MVP, said in a statement.

Seattle-based MVP is a partnership between the World Health Organisation (WHO) and PATH, an international, non-profit group that promotes good health in countries around the globe.

Meningitis is an infection of the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It is spread from person to person by sneezing, coughing and living in close quarters such as dormitories and military barracks.

About 5-10 percent of patients die from the illness, usually within 24-48 hours after symptoms begin, according to the WHO.

There are various strains of meningococci bacteria but most meningitis outbreaks result from serogroups A, B and C. Group A is responsible for cyclic epidemics in what is known as Africa's ''meningitis belt'' that stretches from Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia.

Patients with the illness can be treated with antibiotics.

The disease can cause brain damage, hearing loss and learning disability.

Dr Cyrus Poonawalla, the chairman of the Serum Institute, which supplies vaccines to the WHO and in India, said the vaccine would also be available in India where small outbreaks of the disease occur sporadically.

Reuters SK VP0530