meningococcal B vaccine also protects against gonorrhea

Date:
April 13, 2022
Source:
University of Adelaide
Summary:
Researchers have found that the meningococcal B vaccine could
improve protection against gonorrhea in addition to protection
against meningococcal B meningitis.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers at The University of Adelaide have found that the
meningococcal B vaccine could improve protection against gonorrhoea in
addition to protection against meningococcal B meningitis.


==========================================================================
This significant finding, in a joint study with the Women's and
Children's Hospital, coincides with a rise in gonorrhoea cases globally
and increasing bacterial resistance to drugs used to treat the infection.

Led by 2022 South Australian of the Year, University of Adelaide
Professor of Vaccinology, and Women's and Children's Hospital Senior
Medical Practitioner Helen Marshall AM, the observational study found
that two doses of the meningococcal B vaccine were 33 per cent effective against gonorrhoea in adolescents and young adults.

Professor Marshall said the research aims to reduce not only gonorrhoea infection, but also the long-term effects of gonorrhoea, including
infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and blindness in babies born
to infected mothers.

"With more than 106 million cases of gonorrhoea worldwide, and increasing
at a rapid rate, the issue is firmly on the World Health Organisation's agenda," Professor Marshall said.

"This research will feed into WHO's vaccine roadmap to
evaluate the evidence about the ability of vaccines to prevent
gonorrhoea. Traditionally, treatment for gonorrhoea has relied on
antibiotics, but as these have become increasingly less effective due
to antibiotic resistant strains, it is vital that we explore new and
improved measures to battle this infection.

"In South Australia, where we have a state-funded meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine program for infants, children and adolescents since 2019, we
have been able to observe that its effectiveness against gonorrhoea
in adolescents is about 33 per cent. Two years after introduction
of the state-funded MenB vaccine program, we are already observing
high effectiveness against meningococcal B disease and also moderate effectiveness in preventing gonorrhoea.

"The unprecedented scale of South Australia's MenB vaccination programme
offers valuable real-world evidence of the vaccine's effectiveness
against meningococcal B meningitis in children and adolescents, and
gonorrhoea in adolescents and young people. This information is vital to
inform global meningitis vaccination programmes and policy decisions."
Left unchecked, gonorrhoea can spread to the blood and cause disseminated gonococcal infection (DGI). DGI is usually characterised by arthritis, tenosynovitis, and/or dermatitis and, ultimately, the condition can be
life threatening. Professor Marshall's research has been published in
The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Adelaide. Original
written by Lee Gaskin.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Bing Wang, Lynne Giles, Prabha Andraweera, Mark McMillan, Sara
Almond,
Rebecca Beazley, Janine Mitchell, Noel Lally, Michele Ahoure, Emma
Denehy, Ann Koehler, Louise Flood, Helen Marshall. Effectiveness
and impact of the 4CMenB vaccine against invasive serogroup B
meningococcal disease and gonorrhoea in an infant, child,
and adolescent programme: an observational cohort and
case-control study. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2022; DOI:
10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00754-4 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220413104158.htm

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