India, April 15 -- Nigeria has become the first country in the world to roll out a new vaccine (called Men5CV/MenFive conjugate vaccine) recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which protects people against five strains of the meningococcus bacteria.

MenFiveis indicated for active immunization of individuals aged 9 months to 85 years against invasive meningococcal disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis groups A, C, Y, W, and X.

The vaccine and emergency vaccination activities are funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which funds the global meningitis vaccine stockpile, and supports lower-income countries with routine vaccination against meningitis.

Nigeria is one of the 26 meningitis hyper-endemic countries of Africa, sit...