MeNZB

It appears that the MeNZB vaccine is having an effect with the number of Meningococcal cases having dropped significantly this year compared with last year;

The current total number of notified cases for 2005 so far is 151 with nine deaths. Not all of the cases reported in 2005 so far are due to the same strain that the vaccine is designed to protect against. The average number of cases per year for the last five years over the same time period is 266.

It's worth noting that not all of the country has been vaccinated yet, for example the vaccine was only recently released down in the South Island and so the organisms have had time to wreak a bit of havoc. It will be interesting to see what the numbers are like next year, when the majority of those eligible for the vaccine have aquired it.