There are 3 types of vaccines available.
- Polysaccharide vaccines have been available to prevent the disease for over 30 years. Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines are available in either bivalent (groups A and C), trivalent (groups A, C and W), or tetravalent (groups A, C, Y and W) forms to control the disease.
- For group B, polysaccharide vaccines cannot be developed, due to antigenic mimicry with polysaccharide in human neurologic tissues. The first vaccine against NmB, made from a combination of 4 protein components, was released in 2014.
- Since 1999, meningococcal conjugate vaccines against group C have been available and widely used. Tetravalent A, C, Y and W conjugate vaccines have been licensed since 2005 for use in children and adults in Canada, the United States of America, and Europe.
The extended meningitis belt of sub-Saharan Africa, stretching from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia in the east (26 countries), has the highest rates of the disease. The 26 countries include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda. The risk of meningococcal meningitis epidemics differs within and among these 26 countries.
In December 2010, a new meningococcal A conjugate vaccine was introduced nationwide in Burkina Faso, and in selected regions of Mali and Niger (the remaining regions were covered in 2011), targeting persons 1 to 29 years of age. As of May 2026, over 350 million persons have been vaccinated with this vaccine in 24 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda).
The MenA conjugate vaccine has several advantages over existing polysaccharide vaccines:
- it induces a higher and more sustainable immune response against group A meningococcus;
- it reduces the carriage of the bacteria in the throat and thus its transmission;
- it is expected to confer long-term protection not only for those who receive the vaccine, but on family members and others who would otherwise have been exposed to meningitis;
- it is available at a lower price than other meningococcal vaccines (around 0.50 USD per dose, other meningococcal vaccine prices range from 2.50 USD to 117.00 USD per dose); and
- it is expected to be particularly effective in protecting children under two years of age, who do not respond to conventional polysaccharide vaccines.
In addition, its thermostability allows for a use under Controlled Temperature Chain (CTC) conditions. More than 2 million persons in 4 countries have been vaccinated without ice use at the vaccination site.
Furthermore, the new multivalent meningococcal conjugate A, C, Y, X, W vaccine (Men5CV/MMCV) was prequalified by WHO in July 2023. It was introduced in the African meningitis belt during the meningitis outbreaks from 2024 to 2026 and through a preventive campaign in Niger in 2025. According to WHO recommendations, all the countries in the African meningitis belt should introduce Men5CV into very high risk districts through preventive campaigns and into the routine immunization schedule from 9–18 months. High coverage of the target age group of 1–29 years is expected to eliminate meningococcal A epidemics from this region of Africa.
