New Vaccine Said to Offer Hope Against Bacterium, by Donald G. McNeil Jr.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

A new vaccine tested in West Africa could save the lives of thousands of poor rural children who die each year from bacterial infections, a team of scientists reported yesterday.
The vaccine is a strengthened version of Prevnar, which has been given widely to American infants since 2000 and prevents rare but serious infections with the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterium.
In the third world, the same germ is a major killer, and the new vaccine, tested in Gambia, “exceeded our expectations,” said Dr. Orin Levine, head of the pneumonia vaccine program at the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, which backed the trial.
Story found here.

Source: The New York Times