Randomized clinical trial to evaluate the immunogenicity of quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate and polysaccharide vaccines in adults in the United kingdom

Abstract

Meningococcal conjugate vaccines are today successfully deployed in universal programs for children and adolescents in different geographic regions to control meningitis and septicemia. However, in adults, the advantages of these conjugates over the older polysaccharide vaccines are less clear. In this randomized clinical trial, we demonstrated that both conjugate and polysaccharide quadrivalent meningococcal vaccines elicit protective antibody responses in adults aged 18 to 70. (This study has been registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov under registration no. NCT00901940.).

FIG 1

Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) diagram indicating disposition of participants in a study, comparing the immunogenicities of MenACWY-CRM conjugate and MenACWY-PS polysaccharide quadrivalent meningococcal vaccines in healthy adult volunteers.

FIG 2

(a) Serum bactericidal activity (hSBA) geometric mean titers (GMT) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) at 7 days after vaccination with a single dose of MenACWY-CRM conjugate vaccine (n = 68 to 72) or a single dose of MenACWY-PS polysaccharide vaccine (n = 73 to 74). (b) hSBA GMTs and 95% CI at 28 days after vaccination with a single dose of MenACWY-CRM (n = 66 to 71) or MenACWY-PS (n = 71 to 75). All comparisons used analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with adjustment for baseline hSBA values prevaccination.