Meningitis B test results raise vaccine hopes

A HUGE breakthrough has been made in the search for a vaccine against meningitis B, the most common form of the illness in Ireland.

There were 157 cases of meningitis B and six deaths reported last year to the state’s public health watchdog — the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

The MenB vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Novartis was tested on 150 babies in Britain, with the children immunised at two, four and six months of age. The children received a fourth dose at 12 months.