title: Serogroup A meningococcal conjugate vaccines in Africa.
abstract: Serogroup A meningococcal epidemics have been a recurrent public health problem, especially in resource-poor countries of Africa. Recently, the administration in mass vaccination campaigns of a single dose of the monovalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine, MenAfriVac, to the 1-29 year-old population of sub-Saharan Africa has prevented epidemics of meningitis caused by serogroup A Neisseria meningitidis. This strategy has also been shown to provide herd protection of the non-vaccinated population. Development of meningococcal conjugate vaccines covering other serogroups and enhanced use of the pneumococcal and Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccines must be pursued to fully control bacterial meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa.
authors.affiliation: a 1 WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Meningococci, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggata 8, 0456 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kristiansen
authors.affiliation: a 1 WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Meningococci, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggata 8, 0456 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Hannah J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.affiliation: a 1 WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Meningococci, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggata 8, 0456 Oslo, Norway.|b 2 Faculty of medicine, University of Oslo, Kirkeveien 166, 0450 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Dominique A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Caugant
mesh_terms: D017954:Africa South of the Sahara / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D032521:Immunity, Herd; D008589:Meningococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*; D038381:Neisseria meningitidis, Serogroup A / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: C573970:MenAfriVac; D022401:Meningococcal Vaccines; D018074:Vaccines, Conjugate
keywords: MenAfriVac; herd protection; immunization; invasive meningococcal disease; meningitis epidemic; meningococcal carriage; meningococcal conjugate vaccine; vaccine coverage