E-DRUG: MSF campaign for W135 meningitis vaccine
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[copied as fair use; WB]
Aid groups: tens of thousands could die from new meningitis
strain
By NAOMI KOPPEL
GENEVA (AP)
Tens of thousands of Africans could die this
year from a Middle Eastern strain of meningitis because of a
lack of affordable vaccine, aid agencies said Thursday.
The Nobel laureate Medicins Sans Frontieres, or MSF,
claimed the problem stemmed from lack of government and
international pressure on drug companies.
The W135 strain, believed to have been carried from the
Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, was identified in Africa for the
first time this year. The vaccine usually used in Africa's
"meningitis belt" that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia only
protects against strains A and C.
"If there were to be a large outbreak in, for example,
Nigeria, we could see hundreds of thousands of cases with a
fatality rate of 5 to 10 percent," said Bernard Moriniere, an
epidemiologist with the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies.
MSF said it was a case of double standards, pointing out
that only a few cases of meningitis provokes a vaccination
campaign in Western countries, but there is no vaccine
available for much more deadly outbreaks in Africa. It called
on governments and the World Health Organization to put
pressure on drug companies to increase production and reduce
the price of the vaccine.
"Month after month we have discovered that there is no
will, not enough pressure put on the companies. They are just
continuing with business as usual, and in this situation you
cannot do business as usual," said Bernard Pecoul, director of
MSF's medical access campaign.
WHO and representatives of governments, donors and drug
companies will meet in the Burkina Faso capital, Ouagadougou,
next week to discuss ways to tackle the problem.
The first outbreak of W135 meningitis was discovered in
Burkina Faso in February. More than 12,000 people were
infected, with almost 1,500 deaths.
Meningitis is a bacterial infection of membranes around the
brain and spinal cord that is spread through close contact with
an infected person or by droplets in the air from coughing or
sneezing. The disease kills around 170,000 people per year,
almost all in Africa. The next meningitis season is expected to
start in November or December.
Because the vaccine is only effective for a short time,
vaccinations are carried out after an outbreak starts. WHO
estimates that such a vaccination campaign can prevent around
70 percent of new infections.
Although a vaccine exists to protect against W135, it is
only produced as part of a vaccine against four strains of
meningitis and is used mainly by Westerners travelling to the
Middle East.
The price of the four-strain vaccine _ from USD 4 in the
Middle East up to as much as USD 50 in the United States _
makes it much too expensive for mass vaccinations in Africa,
the agencies say. The vaccine against strains A and C costs
around 25 cents per dose.
Even if the price were reduced, there are not enough doses
available for the number of people who could be infected. MSF
estimates that 20-50 million doses are needed over the next
five years.
MSF said meningitis vaccines are currently produced by two
companies _ GlaxoSmithKline in Britain and Aventis Pasteur in
France.
The group said experts had estimated the production costs
of the four-strain vaccine at 40-80 cents, but
GlaxoSmithKline's best offer to WHO was USD 3.50 to 4.00
MSF said drug companies must offer the four-strain vaccine
at less than USD 1 per dose or agree to produce a vaccine
specifically for the W135 strain at less than 50 cents per
dose. Alternatively, they could provide the technological help
to allow manufacturers in developing countries to produce the
vaccine. "It is feasible. It is possible. It's just a question of
goodwill," Pecoul said.
GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman Siobhan Lavelle said the
company was increasing its production capacity for the
four-strain vaccine but felt that its price was fair.
"It is a very complicated vaccine to produce, so we feel
that we are already doing the best we can," she said. "We are
very committed to providing vaccines to the developing world
and we have been doing this at preferential prices for nearly
20 years."
Aventis Pasteur spokesman Robert Sebbag said his company
produced only enough vaccine for the U.S. market and would not
be able to increase production substantially for several years.
Creating a vaccine only for W135 would mean starting from
scratch.
"We are very aware of the situation and we will be at the
Ouagadougou meeting looking for a solution," Sebbag said.
[end]
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