The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Bexsero, a vaccine to prevent invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B in individuals 10 through 25 years of age.

Bexsero is the second vaccine approved by the FDA in the past three months to prevent this disease. The agency approved the first meningococcal serogroup B vaccine in October 2014. Before these approvals, existing approved meningococcal vaccines in the U.S. covered only four of the five main serogroups of N. meningitidis bacteria that cause meningococcal disease: A, C, Y and W.

Meningococcal disease is a life-threatening illness caused by bacteria that can infect the bloodstream (sepsis) and the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord (meningitis). N. meningitidis is a leading cause of bacterial meningitis. The bacteria are transmitted from person to person through respiratory or throat secretions (e.g., by coughing, kissing or sharing eating utensils). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 500 total cases of meningococcal disease were reported in the U.S. in 2012, of which 160 were caused by serogroup B.

For more details, go to: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm431370.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery