Population-Level Persistence of Immunity 2 Years After the PsA-TT Mass-Vaccination Campaign in Mali

Background. In 2010, Africa's first preventive meningococcal mass vaccination campaign was launched using a newly developed Neisseria meningitidis group A (NmA) polysaccharide-tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine, PsA-TT (MenAfriVac), designed specifically for the meningitis belt. Given PsA-TT's recent introduction, the duration of protection against meningococcal group A is unknown. Methods. We conducted a household-based, age-stratified seroprevalence survey in Bamako, Mali, in 2012, 2 years after the vaccination campaign targeted all 1- to 29-year-olds. Randomly selected participants who had been eligible for PsA-TT provided a blood sample and responded to a questionnaire. Sera were analyzed to assess NmA-specific serum bactericidal antibody titers using rabbit complement (rSBA) and NmA-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The proportion of participants putatively protected and the age group- and sex-specific rSBA geometric mean titers (GMTs) and IgG geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) were determined. Results. Two years postvaccination, nearly all of the 800 participants (99.0%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 98.3%-99.7%) maintained NmA-specific rSBA titers a parts per thousand yen8, the accepted threshold for protection; 98.6% (95% CI, 97.8%-99.4%) had titers a parts per thousand yen128, and 89.5% (95% CI, 87.4%-91.6%) had titers a parts per thousand yen1024. The rSBA GMTs were significantly higher in females than in males aged < 18 years at vaccination (P < .0001). NmA-specific IgG levels a parts per thousand yen2 A mu g/mL were found in 88.5% (95% CI, 86.3%-90.7%) of participants. Conclusions. Two years after PsA-TT introduction, a very high proportion of the population targeted for vaccination maintains high antibody titers against NmA. Assessing the duration of protection provided by PsA-TT is a priority for implementing evidence-based vaccination strategies. Representative, population-based seroprevalence studies complement clinical trials and provide this key evidence.