A vaccine approved for use in Europe and Australia but not in the United States will be imported to help quell an outbreak of bacterial meningitis at Princeton University. This is a good example of how two federal agencies — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration — can collaborate to reach a common-sense solution to protect the public's health.
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The university has been experiencing a small and slow-moving outbreak of a type of bacterial meningitis known as strain B. Four students and a visitor to the campus developed symptoms between March 22 and June 29; all have recovered. Two other students developed symptoms in October and early November. One has recovered; the other is recovering. On Friday, another student was diagnosed with meningitis, and tests are underway to determine whether it was caused by strain B.
Last year, some 160 cases of strain B were reported in the United States. The disease can cause headaches, high fevers and stiff necks, and it is fatal in 10 percent to 15 percent of the cases.
The vaccine currently used to prevent bacterial meningitis in this country protects against several other strains but not against strain B. The only vaccine proved to be effective against strain B is Bexsero, made by Novartis, which is based in Switzerland and which won regulatory approval for the vaccine in Europe in January and in Australia in August. The company has not pushed for approval here because it is concentrating on a vaccine against the other strains.
In this case, the C.D.C. requested permission to import the vaccine, and the F.D.A. approved it through a limited special process used occasionally to handle emergency situations, such as a shortage of critically needed cancer drugs last year. The vaccine will be available to all Princeton undergraduates starting next month, as well as to graduate students who live in dormitories and to people affiliated with the university who have specific medical conditions that put them at risk.
Although the imported vaccine has been approved only for use at Princeton, the C.D.C. should apply to have Bexsero available if a similar outbreak occurs somewhere else, and the F.D.A. should grant such approval.
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