The High Authority of Health recommends an expansion of vaccination against meningitis, given the increase in cases. The government intends to follow this recommendation.
- Meningococcal infections have been increasing in France since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The Haute Autorité de Santé was asked by the Ministry of Health to develop new vaccination recommendations.
- She suggests broadening vaccination by including sera against different groups of meningococci, particularly among younger people.
France is facing a “bounce” of meningitis since the end of the barrier measures put in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. “If 298 cases were recorded between January and September 2019, 421 cases have already been recorded between January and September 2023, an increase of 36% in cases, even though the winter peak has not yet occurred.specified the Pasteur Institute in a communicated last November. Faced with this increase, the Ministry of Health requested the High Authority of Health to evaluate and update the vaccination strategy. The organization published its recommendations this Wednesday March 27.
Meningococcal infection: who are the people most at risk?
“In France, after more than two years of low incidence of cases of invasive meningococcal infections (IIM), attributable to the implementation of measures (barriers) during the Covid-19 pandemic, IIM surveillance data from Public Health France in 2022 and 2023 shows a resumption of the circulation of meningococci (all serogroups combined)confirms the HAS. An early and very high peak in the incidence of IMI was observed during the winter of 2022/23.” Current figures exceed levels recorded before the pandemic.
These infections are caused by bacteria, called meningococci, and mainly affect infants, children under five, adolescents and young adults aged 11 to 24. “These infections are fatal in approximately one in ten cases despite antibiotic therapy due to their rapid nature, alerts the High Authority for Health. They can also leave disabling after-effects.”
Meningitis: HAS wants to make vaccination compulsory for more children
Vaccination is one of the solutions to protect yourself from infection. Since January 1, 2018, that against group C meningococcus has been compulsory for infants. In its new recommendations, the HAS recommends extending vaccination to other meningococcal groups. It suggests making vaccination against serogroups A, C, W and Y compulsory for all infants under one year of age with a two-dose vaccination schedule. “For adolescents, it recommends vaccination according to a one-dose schedule administered between 11 and 14 years old, whether they have already been vaccinated or not, as well as a catch-up vaccination in 15-24 year olds.indicates the press release.
For serogroup B, she advises making vaccination compulsory for infants under one year old. “As serogroup B is in the majority among cases of meningococcal meningitis in young children, HAS recommends strengthening the current strategy in order to quickly increase vaccination coverage which was 48.8% in 2022., she notes. On the other hand, infection by this group being rarer in adolescents and young adults, she does not recommend vaccinating them against serogroup B.
Recommendations followed by the government
“The government will follow this opinion and I salute the work of the High Authority of Health which will allow us to concretely strengthen our strategy to combat meningococci.“, declared the Minister Delegate for Health Frédéric Valletoux, BFMTV. He announced that more details on the implementation of these new recommendations will be given in the coming days.
