Nigeria has become the first country in the world to roll out the New Men5CV vaccine against meningitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
Nigeria was among the 26 African countries the WHO described the outbreak of the disease as hyper-endemic following reported annual cases of 50 per cent.
“Nigeria’s rollout brings us one step closer to our goal to eliminate meningitis by 2030,” Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General, was quoted as saying in a statement.
Between last October and mid-March this year, 1,742 cases were suspected in the country, with 153 deaths recorded in seven states in Nigeria, data from the WHO shows.
The new vaccine is reported to protect against the five major strains of the disease that are prevalent in Nigeria, unlike the initial vaccine that works against only one strain, said the WHO
