FDA approves meningitis vaccine after outbreak at colleges

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a vaccine for a strain of meningitis that has infected students on college campuses across the U.S. this year.

There are five main strains of the bacteria that causes meningitis, an infection of the bloodstream and lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord: A, B, C, Y and W. The FDA has vaccines to prevent four of the five, but a vaccine for type B — known as MenB — was unavailable until now.

{mosads}In a blog post Thursday, the FDA announced the approval of Trumenba, the first vaccine licensed in the U.S. to prevent the strain responsible for a recent outbreak on college campuses.

At least 13 students on three campuses, including Princeton University, where it started, have been affected. The meningitis strain is believed to have killed a 19-year-old Pennsylvania woman in March.

The FDA said between 10 percent and 15 percent of people who develop meningococcal disease die from the infection. Another 10 to 20 percent suffer permanent complications including brain damage and loss of limbs.