Review of the cost effectiveness of immunisation strategies for the control of epidemic meningococcal meningitis.

Outbreaks of meningococcal disease have caused devastation worldwide. Effective vaccines have not been used routinely, due to perceived limitations of the duration of effectiveness as well as immunogenicity when administered during infancy. Given the sporadic nature of outbreaks, the optimal use of these vaccines to control both short-term epidemic and endemic meningococcal disease has been the subject of much debate. Seven economic studies on the use of polysaccharide vaccination strategies help to highlight the relevant epidemiological and economic issues surrounding the decisions for their use. Five of these studies were based in Africa, the region where annual incidence rates can be several orders of magnitude greater than the rest of the world. These studies demonstrated that vaccination against meningococcal disease during outbreak situations is suboptimal given the inability to rapidly immunise populations in a timely fashion in resource-poor areas. However, depending on the disease incidence and the ability to deliver vaccines, the polysaccharide vaccine can be cost effective for preventive strategies when given prior to the start of outbreaks, either through presumptive vaccination or through a modified routine delivery strategy. Economic analyses of mass immunisation campaigns and modelled routine vaccination suggest that routine use of meningococcal vaccines for preventive strategies could be within the range of cost-effective public health interventions in those regions of the world where meningococcal disease is endemic. This includes the meningococcal belt of Africa, the Sahelian region.