DOCTORS are one step closer to producing a life-saving vaccine to protect children against meningitis.
A team from the Health Protection Agency are developing a jab to defend against the B-strain of the virus - which they hope will be in use within two years.
Dr Ray Borrow, who is leading the Manchester research team, said children given the prototype vaccine in trials are producing antibodies that can fight the disease.
The B-strain kills around 180 people in Britain every year, with children aged under five most at risk.
Dr Borrow, head of the Health Protection Agency's Vaccine Evaluation Unit, said: "We're hoping the vaccine will be ready in the next couple of years, so it can be introduced into the childhood immunisation programme.
"We have been trying to produce a vaccine against the group B strain for some time now and are delighted with the first signs of success.
"Meningococcal B strains are highly variable and there are a lot more than a dozen or so. The ideal vaccine would be to protect against 100 per cent of strains, but if coverage could get to 80 per cent, that would be fantastic.
"People have been working on producing a vaccine for this strain for the last couple of decades, so everybody is delighted that things have begun to progress and we are much closer to producing a vaccine.
"We hope that this will relieve the stress and pressure for many parents, as meningitis is always a major worry for people who have children.
"For some, the threat of meningitis really preys on their minds, so this will help to alleviate their concerns."
Strain B accounts for about 90 per cent of the 1,800 cases of meningitis in Britain every year.
It kills one in every 10 of the youngsters infected by it each year and about 15 per cent of those who survive the disease are left with severe disabilities.
Dr Borrow hopes the vaccine will be in use within two years after safety tests are complete. It has been designed to be given to babies in three doses, with a booster at two years old.
The team, based at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, helped test the vaccine for meningitis C, which is now routinely given to youngsters as part of the national vaccination program.
Early signs of the meningitis infection include fever, nausea, headache, vomiting and muscle pain, with cold hands and feet.
Some also develop the distinctive meningitis rash.
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Jab hope to halt meningitis killer
March 28, 2008
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Meningitis Trust (31/03/2008 at 11:54)
Although this new vaccine will potentially prevent many cases of meningitis, there are still many other types of meningitis. The Meningitis Trust, the UK’s longest established meningitis charity, is dedicated to providing lifelong practical, emotional and financial support wherever it is needed to those whose lives have been shattered by the disease.
There will always be meningitis in some form and there will always be people struggling to cope with its after-effects. The Trust’s own research is focused on these after-effects and aftercare issues to help us understand how we can provide timely and quality care for all those affected.
The Meningitis Trust helps around 20,000 people each year through a 24-hour helpline (0800 028 18 28), professional counselling, financial grants, home visits, one-to-one contact and community support.
With as many as 500,000 people living in the UK who have had either viral or bacterial meningitis and up to one adult in every four who knows of someone who has had meningitis our support is for life.
For further information and support call the Meningitis Trust’s freephone 24-hour nurse-led helpline on 0800 028 18 28.