Success of India-developed meningitis A vaccine MenAfriVac

Meningitis A, that threatens the lives of 450 million people across 26 countries in Africa's ‘Meningitis belt' that stretches from Senegal and the Gambia in the West to Ethiopia in the East, has a tailor made vaccine developed by Indian billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla’s Serum Institute of India.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has included the vaccine for routine immunization of infants in sub-Saharan Africa, paving the way for protecting millions of children, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

The vaccine is targeted to protect 450 million people at risk from meningitis by 2016, and save nearly 150,000 lives. It is the first vaccine for use in Africa that can be transported and stored for as long as four days without refrigeration, or an ice pack. While it cuts down the cost of the vaccine, it also allows for safe delivery in the most remote areas.