Evolution of immune response against Neisseria meningitidis B:14:P1.7,16 before and after the outer membrane vesicle vaccine MenBvac

A meningococcal B:14:P1.7,16 outbreak in Normandy (France) was recently controlled using MenBvac, an outer membrane vesicle vaccine previously designed against the B:15:P1.7,16 strain. The further emergence of a new B:14:P1.7,16 outbreak in another district in Normandy led us to explore immunity against B:14:P1.7,16 before and after the MenBvac campaign using a 2+1 (day 0, week 6, month 8) schedule. Children (1-5 years) were sampled before, during and up to one year after vaccination. Serum bactericidal activity against B:14:P1.7,16 was titrated using human complement (hSBA) and immune response was defined by hSBA titer ≥4 as a surrogate for protection. The percentage of hSBA titer ≥4 was 10.8% before vaccination, raised to 84.1% 6 weeks after the completion of the schedule, but declined to 39.7% one year later. This level is lower than the targeted 60% level and suggests only short-term persistence of response against B:14:P1.7,16 using this schedule.