The Global Meningococcal Initiative (GMI), an international group of expert scientists, doctors and public health officials have emphasised the need for herd protection in populations where it is currently lacking, to further reduce transmission of meningococcal disease.

The experts identified that vaccinating the age groups most likely to carry the meningitis bacteria particularly adolescents and young adults is important for achieving whole population protection.

The paper, published in Expert Review of Vaccines, confirms that current vaccination efforts are vital, with the incidence of meningococcal disease falling in many countries, but that more could be done. The prevention of meningococcal disease largely relies on drastically reducing carriage of the meningococcal bacterial so that it is not carried and spread around the population.

The report calls for greater effort in this area worldwide. The experts point out that the approach to achieving herd protection will likely differ from country to country  making it important to consider local differences when developing new vaccine strategies.

The success of this approach in meningitis protection has already been seen in the UK with meningitis C. Teenagers and young adults, the main carriers of the bug, were vaccinated and a dramatic decline in cases was witnessed in all other age groups. However, the meningitis B vaccine is only available to babies while further evidence on carriage reduction is being gathered.

Linda Glennie, head of research at Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) said, “We welcome these recommendations from the GMI. Adolescents aged between 14 to 18 are more likely to carry meningococcal bacteria than any other age group. Vaccinating young adults should protect them and stop the bacteria from being passed on to others. This means that even unvaccinated people will be protected from catching the disease.

Meningococcal B infection has been the largest cause of meningitis in the UK for decades. Introducing the MenB vaccine for babies in 2015 was a major step forward, but restricting the vaccine to only this narrow highest risk age group can never prevent the majority of cases. A commitment was made by ministers to fund an evaluation of the MenB vaccine in teenagers and we hope that this report from the GMI gives further impetus to begin the process of funding of the teenage evaluation.”

Daphne Holt, vice president of the Confederation of Meningitis Organisations (CoMO) said, “I am delighted that the importance of herd protection is gaining more attention. With international travel increasing and new strains emerging, it is more crucial than ever that vaccination programmes are targeted to those who have the highest carriage rates.”

The GMI acknowledges the extensive contribution of organisations such as MRF and CoMO advocacy and awareness campaigns in reducing meningococcal disease.  

The GMI is a global expert group of over 50 scientists, clinicians, and public health officials with a wide range of specialties. The purpose of the initiative is to promote the global prevention of meningococcal disease through education, research, and cooperation.

MRF and CoMO partner with the GMI, and Chris Head, President of CoMO, is a Steering Group member of GMI. MRF hosts a dedicated section on its website to introduce the work of GMI and to showcase the research conducted by the GMI network: www.meningitis.org/gmi. GMI is funded by Sanofi Pasteur through an educational grant.