title: Neisseria meningitidis B vaccines.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Genoa, Via Pastore 1, 16132, Genoa, Italy. panatto@unige.it
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Panatto
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Amicizia
authors.forename: Piero Luigi
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gasparini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005060:Europe; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D038541:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup B / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D009520:New Zealand; D011634:Public Health; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014611:Vaccination; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate