Vaccination against meningitis, currently compulsory in infants for only one family of bacteria, should become more widely available to combat a resurgence of these diseases, the High Health Authority has ruled.

Vaccination against meningitis, currently mandatory in infants for only one family of bacteria, should be applied more widely to combat the resurgence of these diseases, the High Authority for Health (HAS) rules.

“If the implementation of containment measures during the Covid-19 crisis led to a significant reduction in these infections, the latest data show the resumption of the circulation of meningococci in France,” the HAS underlines.

Meningitis is a particularly serious infection of the brain and spinal cord. They are fatal about one in ten times and often cause significant neurological sequelae the rest of the time.

It is most often caused by a virus, but sometimes by bacteria, called meningococci. In the face of this, vaccination is possible, but is complicated by the existence of many different groups of meningococci.

Currently, vaccination for group C meningococci is mandatory for children under one year of age, even though it is strongly recommended for group B.

However, “serogroups W and Y have increased significantly, especially in infants and young people”, underlines HAS, highlighting the highly lethal nature of meningococcal W infection in particular.

As a result, the authority now recommends compulsory vaccination of children under one year of age against meningococci A, B, W and Y, as well as C.

Vaccination will be done with a single vaccine – in two doses – four for strains A, C, W and Y, and another for strain B.

The HAS has also revised its recommendations for older children, although this time it is not a question of moving to responsibility.

Currently, only vaccination against meningococci C is recommended until the age of 24 years, but only if it was not done when the patient was a child.

From now on, for meningococci A, C, W and Y, a new dose is recommended for 11-14 year olds, even if they were vaccinated under one year of age.

On the other hand, the HAS still does not recommend the meningococcal B vaccine in adolescents and young adults, as infections associated with this strain are very rare in this age group.

Frédéric Valleteaux, the minister responsible for health and prevention, indicated in a response sent to AFP that “the government will follow this opinion from the HAS” and that it will “clarify the implementation method (…) of this recommendation in the coming days.”

French pharmaceutical laboratory Sanofi, maker of the meningitis vaccine and sponsor of the Olympic Games, is leading a meningitis vaccination awareness campaign as part of the event, which has been endorsed by three para-athletes affected by the disease.

“Our gathering continues to guarantee the success of vaccine prevention against meningitis, especially at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games because these large gatherings are particularly conducive to the spread of meningitis,” underlined in a press release, Charles Wolf, General Director. Vaccines France at Sanofi.