RESEARCHERS STUDYING NEW, PREVENTATIVE MENINGITIS VACCINE

Scientists in Mali are studying a vaccine discovered in India that they say could halve the number of deaths caused by meningitis in West Africa once research is finished in 2009, reports the U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). So far this season, at least 1,300 people in Burkina Faso and 36 in northern Côte d'Ivoire have been infected with meningitis, and 150 people have died.

Researchers say early signs show that the new, relatively inexpensive drug overcomes many of the limitations of older drugs. "The old vaccine was efficient, but only on children older than 2 and adults, and it lasted only for two years. The new one can be administered to children under 2 and can yield more than 10 years immunity," a World Health Organization (WHO) official told IRIN.

Meningitis is transmitted through respiratory secretions, such as sneezing or coughing. The new experimental vaccine is effective at stopping massive outbreaks because it directly attacks the bacterium in the throat, according to IRIN.

Researchers say the new vaccine would be used preventatively, instead of being administered to stop outbreaks already in progress, which is the current practice, IRIN reports. But the new vaccine only targets one strain of meningitis, type A, which is responsible for 51 percent of infections in West Africa.

The research is being funded through a joint partnership between WHO and the Program for Appropriate Technologies in Health, according to IRIN. The first tests took place in 2004 in India. Scientists plan to begin more trials this year in Ethiopia, Ghana and Senegal.