CU vaccines
10 Dec 2003

Havana - DTC - The Cuban vaccine against meningitis B and C has proven to be highly effective to fight the disease, which affects the central nervous system. According to experts, Cuba has succeeded in reducing the mortality and morbidity rates to 0.4 and 0.1 percent, respectively.  The vaccine, developed at the Finlay Institute, has successfully been used in mass vaccination campaigns in Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay. The Cuban vaccine has been registered in 17 countries, and nearly 50 million doses have been administered. Experts recalled that nearly 50 bacterial species can cause meningitis, which sometimes causes mental retardation and even death. The Finlay Institute is registering vaccines against typhus, tetanus and trivalent leptospirosis, among others, in America, Asia and Africa.