'A CURE IS ON THE WAY'

BRITAIN could soon have a vaccine against meningitis. Doctors in Cuba say they have developed a vaccine which has effectively eliminated the illness from the island.

British researchers are now studying the breakthrough to see whether it can be used to immunise children here against the bug.

Professor Mike Levine, head of meningitis research at London's St Mary's Hospital, hailed the Cuban vaccine as a great success on the Caribbean island. "We are hopeful that we can use the vaccine in this country," he said.

Currently in Britain, those at risk of meningitis are treated with large doses of antibiotics - a method which is only effective if the illness is caught at an early stage. The Cubans started looking for a vaccine after an epidemic there in the mid-1980s. More than 250 people a year were dying at its peak.

"Many children and young adults died and others were severely ill," said Lourdes Alisia Diaz, scientific adviser at the Cuban Embassy. "A vaccine was developed against a particular strain of the disease and a mass immunisation programme began.

"Now we have reached the stage where there are just one or two cases of illness among those who have not been vaccinated. As far as the World Health Organisation is concerned meningitis does not exist in Cuba."

Dr Sarah Moseley, who is helping study the Cuban vaccine for St Mary's, said: "We are still evaluating it and it could be at least a year before we start a trial with children in this country."

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