Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2 December 2008; Volume 2 (Issue 12); DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000342
Guerin PJ, Naess LM, Fogg C, Rosenqvist E, Pinoges LLP, et al.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2 December 2008; Volume 2 (Issue 12); DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000342
BACKGROUND: Neisseria meningitidis serogroup A is the main causative pathogen of meningitis epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. In recent years, serogroup W135 has also been the cause of epidemics. Mass vaccination campaigns with polysaccharide vaccines are key elements in controlling these epidemics. Facing global vaccine shortage, we explored the use of fractional doses of a licensed A/C/Y/W135 polysaccharide meningococcal vaccine. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We conducted a randomized, non-inferiority trial in 750 healthy volunteers 2-19 years old in Mbarara, Uganda, to compare the immune response of the full dose of the vaccine versus fractional doses (1/5 or 1/10). Safety and tolerability data were collected for all subjects during the 4 weeks following the injection. Pre- and post-vaccination sera were analyzed by measuring serum bactericidal activity (SBA) with baby rabbit complement. A responder was defined as a subject with a >/=4-fold increase in SBA against a target strain from each serogroup and SBA titer >/=128. For serogroup W135, 94% and 97% of the vaccinees in the 1/5- and 1/10-dose arms, respectively, were responders, versus 94% in the full-dose arm; for serogroup A, 92% and 88% were responders, respectively, versus 95%. Non-inferiority was demonstrated between the full dose and both fractional doses in SBA seroresponse against serogroups W135 and Y, in total population analysis. Non-inferiority was shown between the full and 1/5 doses for serogroup A in the population non-immune prior to vaccination. Non-inferiority was not shown for any of the fractionate doses for serogroup C. Safety and tolerability data were favourable, as observed in other studies. CONCLUSIONS: While the advent of conjugate A vaccine is anticipated to largely contribute to control serogroup A outbreaks in Africa, the scale-up of its production will not cover the entire "Meningitis Belt" target population for at least the next 3 to 5 years. In view of the current shortage of meningococcal vaccines for Africa, the use of 1/5 fractional doses should be considered as an alternative in mass vaccination campaigns. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00271479.
Journal Article > ResearchFull Text
Scand. J. Immunol.. 8 June 2011; Volume 74 (Issue 1); DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3083.2011.02535.x
Barnes GK, Naess LM, Rosenqvist E, Guerin PJ, Caugant DA
Scand. J. Immunol.. 8 June 2011; Volume 74 (Issue 1); DOI:10.1111/j.1365-3083.2011.02535.x
In the absence of an affordable conjugate meningococcal vaccine, mass vaccination campaigns with polysaccharide vaccines are the means to control meningitis epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa. Facing global vaccine shortage, the use of reduced doses, which have been shown to be protective by serum bactericidal activity, can save many lives. In this study, we investigated the antibody responses and avidity of IgG antibodies evoked against the serogroup A capsule of Neisseria meningitidis by different doses of an A/C/Y/W135 polysaccharide vaccine. Volunteers in Uganda were vaccinated with 1/10, 1/5 or a full dose (50 μg) and revaccinated with a full dose after 1 year. Specific IgG geometric mean concentrations and geometric mean avidity indices (GMAI) were determined by a modified enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using thiocyanate as a chaotropic agent. After vaccination with 1/10 or 1/5 doses, the GMAI increased from 1 month to 1 year. One year following the initial dose, the GMAI levels were higher in the arm receiving reduced doses than for the arm receiving a full dose. Following the second full dose, avidity indices equalized at approximately the same level in the three arms. Although there are practical challenges to the use of reduced doses in the field, our findings suggest that reduced doses of polysaccharide vaccine are able to elicit antibodies of as good avidity against serogroup A polysaccharide as a full dose.