Purpose of review: This review explores the history of serogroup B meningitis outbreaks in American universities and the rise of the monovalent serogroup B meningococcus vaccines (MenB).
Recent findings: Serogroup B meningitis represents 30% of American meningococcal infections and had no commercially available vaccine in the USA until 2013 when the FDA made an expanded allowance for importation of the MenB-4C vaccine for outbreaks at two American universities. Infections of Neisseria meningitidis, notably meningococcal meningitis represent a continued, lethal threat to the pediatric and adolescent populations and those with primary or acquired complement component deficiencies, largely mitigated by the quadrivalent meningococcal conjugated vaccine against serogroups A, C, W, and Y (MenACWY).
Keywords: Bexsero; Meningococcal vaccine; Neisseria meningitidis; Princeton University meningitis outbreak; Serogroup B meningococcus; Trumenba.