Meningococcal B vaccine linked to lower gonorrhea risk

The meningococcal B (MenB) vaccine could provide protection against more than one disease, with new research linking it to a significant reduction in the risk of gonorrhea in young Territorians. The study, led by Adelaide University in partnership with NT Health, found that two doses of the 4CMenB vaccine were associated with a 38% lower risk of gonorrhea notifications in young people ages 14 to 22.

Researchers believe this may be because the bacteria that cause meningococcal disease and gonorrhea are closely related, and it’s likely the vaccine triggers an immune response that helps the body recognize and prevent both infections.

“This study adds to growing evidence that the MenB vaccine may offer modest protection against gonorrhea when provided to young people, in addition to its established role in preventing invasive meningococcal B disease,” said Adelaide University professor Helen Marshall, the study’s principal investigator and clinical research director at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network.

With assistance from NT Health, the MenB vaccine was offered to all 14- to 19-year-old Territorians. Notification and immunization data were analyzed from 30,650 adolescents and young people across the Northern Territory and Ngaanyatjarra Lands in Western Australia.

Researchers also followed 2,526 participants over 12 months to examine whether the vaccine reduced the presence of meningococcal bacteria in the throat but found no decrease over time. The MenB vaccine directly protects people from group B meningococcal disease but does not reduce the spread of the bacteria between people.

The research paper has been published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and is the first to report on the vaccine’s effectiveness in a real-world setting with a higher prevalence of both invasive meningococcal disease and gonorrhea among adolescents.

“These are real-world findings from a high-burden setting for both invasive meningococcal disease and gonorrhea,” said James Ward, co-investigator on the study and director of the University of Queensland Poche Center for Indigenous Health. “The outcomes add to international evidence that MenB vaccination may have benefits beyond meningococcal disease prevention, especially in young people.

“The rollout of the vaccine should now be another tool in the toolbox to reduce unacceptably high rates of both invasive meningococcal disease and gonorrhea.”

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection that can lead to infertility. In Australia, the number of cases has doubled over the past 10 years, with notifications of drug-resistant strains also rising. “Gonorrhea is becoming harder to treat because of increasing antimicrobial resistance, which highlights the importance of identifying additional prevention strategies,” Marshall said.

The researchers caution that the gonorrhea analysis was observational, meaning some potentially important factors, such as sexual behavior, health care engagement and testing frequency, were not available. Despite this, the findings are likely to be of strong interest to policymakers, given the urgent need for new strategies to reduce gonorrhea and slow the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

A funded MenB vaccination program for infants and Year 9 students was introduced in the Northern Territory last year following promising results from this trial and others globally.

The NHMRC Center of Research Excellence in Neisseria Disease Control, led by Marshall and Ward, will continue to help clarify the vaccine’s longer-term impact on both gonorrhea and meningococcal disease.

Who’s behind this story?

Lisa Lock

BA art history, MA material culture. Former museum editor, paramedic, and transplant coordinator. Editing for Science X since 2021.

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Andrew Zinin

Master’s in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X’s editorial success.

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