Meningococcal Disease - Infectious Disease

Introduction to Meningococcal Disease

The disease can be serious and sometimes even life threatening, as it is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis. The bacteria in question is a gram – negative diplococcus which resides in the nasopharynx of humans, but can sometimes cause disease that is invasive in nature that can be seen as meningitis or bacteremia. The ailment is known for its acute progression and high fatality rates, and also has a high degree of disability for those afflicted.

The disease is categorized into several types:

Meningococcemia: This disease manifests as intravascular coagulation with accompanying signs of tissue ischemic damage which may present with a petechial or purpuric rash.

Meningitis: A condition that is caused by bacterial invasion of the meninges and results in its inflammation, which in turn leads headache, stiff neck and sensitivity to light.

Global distribution of meningococcal serogroups.

Fig.1 Global meningococcal serogroup distribution. (Wiersinga W. J., et al., 2018)

Vaccine Development for Meningococcal Disease

Polysaccharide-Conjugate Vaccines

The initial excavated generation for vaccine consisted of purified capsular polysaccharides of sevevral serological groups. When it comes to young children who are at the greatest risk for invasive meningococcal disease, these types of polysaccharide vaccines offer some protection against some specific serogroup but delivery of immune memory for the long period of time is almost completely ineffective.

Protein-Based Vaccines

It has been quite tough to come to the conclusion what vaccines can be developed against serogroup B meningococcus because polymetric chains of MenB capsule look too much like polysaccharides of human neural cell adhesion molecules, which can cause autoimmunity.

Therapeutics Development for Meningococcal Disease

Antibiotic Therapies

In the therapeutics of suspected meningococcal disease, Antimicrobial therapy is crucial, considering the nature of the disease, it is indicated in its first therapeutic regime. The timely delivery of care through the use of medications such as cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and penicillin if PEOR is shown to have considerably beneficial consequences.

Adjunctive Therapies

The role of adjunctive therapies such as corticosteroids, reduces the occurrence of neurologic sequelae in cases with meningitis. Cases of suspected bacterial meningitis receives high dose dexamethasone just before or with the first dose of antibiotics.

Our Services

Our firm has dedicated resources to advance the development of various Meningococcal diseases. Specifically, our robust suite of services encompasses the entire ecosystem that surrounds the development of therapeutic units which includes diagnostics, vaccines, and comprehensive support for preclinical studies.

Advanced preclinical research capabilities allow for the use of new meningococcal vaccine candidates and therapeutic agents in detailed immunogenicity, safety and efficacy investigations. Modern technologies, such as animal models or in vitro assays, are employed to develop new hypotheses concerning the future of the ongoing projects of our clients. We invite any clients to reach out directly for detailed quotes or further information not already discussed if any of our services are of interest.

References

Millar, Beverley C., P. J. A. Moore, and J. E. Moore. "Meningococcal disease: has the battle been won?." BMJ Military Health 163.4 (2017): 235-241.
Pizza, Mariagrazia, Rafik Bekkat-Berkani, and Rino Rappuoli. "Vaccines against meningococcal diseases." Microorganisms 8.10 (2020): 1521.

All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.

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