Serogroup B meningococcal vaccines from the public health perspective

Abstract

In The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Helen Marshall and colleagues1 report on the good immunogenicity, short-lived antibody persistence, and acceptable reactogenicity profile of meningococcal serogroup B-factor H binding protein vaccine (MenB-FHbp), which contains two factor-H-binding proteins (FHbp), against serogroup B meningococcal disease in children aged 1–9 years. The data were collected during two phase 2 studies in Australia and Europe, with 396 toddlers (age 12–23 months) and 400 older children (aged 2–9 years) randomly assigned to receive either MenB-FHbp (60 μg [toddler study only] or 120 μg) or a control vaccine (hepatitis A vaccine and saline) in a three-dose primary schedule (0, 2, and 6 months).