Vaccine approval on track says ministry

By REBECCA WALSH, health reporter

The Ministry of Health is reassuring the public it is on track with a vaccination campaign against meningococcal disease.

Yesterday the Herald revealed large amounts of the vaccine, especially made to combat the meningococcal B epidemic, might have to be dumped because of delays licensing the vaccine.

The ministry is waiting for approval from Medsafe, the medicines safety authority, to begin a $200 million nationwide programme eventually to vaccinate everyone under 20 against the disease. The plan is more than than a month behind schedule.

The green light for the vaccine is expected in two weeks, giving the ministry and Counties Manukau District Health Board just 16 weeks to administer 390,000 doses of the vaccine before the first batch expires on October 31.

The vaccine must be given in three separate doses, four to six weeks apart.

Dr Jane O'Hallahan, the ministry's meningococcal vaccine strategy director, said it was hoped Medsafe would agree to extend the expiry date set by the manufacturer, but there were no guarantees.

If the date stayed October 31 some vaccine would not be able to be used.

Deputy director-general of public health Dr Don Matheson said yesterday that reports of an expiry date being set were premature. An expiry date could not be confirmed until the vaccine was licensed for use.

"Medsafe is currently considering an application to license MeNZB for use in New Zealand. The application is supported by vast amounts of scientific and technical data, including information that can be used to establish a safe expiry date," he said.

"Safety is paramount and no children or young New Zealanders will be given any vaccine that has expired."

A ministry spokesman said the vaccine did not have a fixed expiry date. Asked if there would be enough vaccine if large quantities had to be dumped, he said he would "not go down the track of what if".

Dr O'Hallahan, who met principals from 50 schools in the Counties Manukau area yesterday to explain progress on the vaccine, said a Pacific child in the area had a one in 48 chance of contracting meningococcal disease by the time he or she turned 5.

Dangerous disease

* Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection that can cause serious illnesses including meningitis (inflammation of the membranes covering the brain) and septicaemia (a serious infection in the blood).

* For every 100 people who get the disease on average four will die and 20 will suffer permanent and serious physical disability. Others will have ongoing behavioural or learning difficulties.

* Symptoms include a fever, headache, vomiting, rash, drowsiness and joint or muscle pain. Babies may refuse food or drink, cry a lot and appear sleepy and floppy.

* The bacteria can be spread by close contact, for example living in the same household or sharing drinks.

* Vaccines are available for meningococcal A and C strains but 90 per cent of cases in New Zealand are strain B.

* New Zealand has one of the worst rates of meningococcal disease, with an average 16 deaths a year.