meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed) at a glance
Medicine class
Non-live, recombinant multicomponent meningococcal vaccine adsorbed onto aluminium hydroxide.
Licensed use
Active immunisation from two months of age against invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis group B.
Administration
Given by deep intramuscular injection by a trained healthcare professional.
Protection limits
Protection is not guaranteed against every circulating MenB strain or other causes of meningitis and sepsis.
What is meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed) used for?
Its uses include:
Licensed prevention of invasive meningococcal disease caused by group B bacteria in people from two months of age.
Use under UK immunisation programmes for eligible children and people at increased risk of meningococcal disease.
Bexsero is used outside its licence in a UK programme to reduce gonorrhoea risk in specified higher-risk groups. Protection is incomplete, and it neither treats existing gonorrhoea nor replaces safer-sex measures or testing.
How does meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed) work?
The vaccine presents four MenB surface antigens to the immune system. This stimulates bactericidal antibodies that can recognise and help kill meningococcal strains expressing sufficient amounts of those antigens.
How to take meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed)
A healthcare professional gives it by deep intramuscular injection, usually into the thigh in infants or upper arm in older people. Vaccines given at the same appointment must use separate injection sites. It must not be injected into a vein, under the skin, or into the skin, or mixed with another vaccine in the same syringe.
Food and drink do not affect administration.
Tell the vaccinator about allergies, fever, bleeding disorders, immunosuppressive treatment, or previous vaccine reactions.
Follow the vaccinator's age-specific advice about managing fever after vaccination.
meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed) side effects
Common or expected effects
- Pain, tenderness, redness, swelling, or firmness at the injection site
- Fever, particularly in infants
- Irritability, sleepiness, or unusual crying in young children
- Reduced appetite, vomiting, or diarrhoea in young children
- Headache, nausea, muscle or joint pain, and malaise in adolescents and adults
Get urgent medical advice
- Severe allergic reaction, including breathing difficulty, facial or throat swelling, collapse, or widespread hives
- Seizure, including a fever-related seizure
- Very high or persistent fever, or marked unresponsiveness
- Extensive swelling, blistering, or another severe injection-site reaction
meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed) in pregnancy
Clinical information from exposed pregnancies is limited, so the potential risk is uncertain. Vaccination should not be withheld when there is a clear risk of meningococcal exposure; a clinician should assess the expected benefit and uncertainty for the individual situation.
meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed) while breastfeeding
Product-specific breastfeeding data are limited and the prescriber should consider benefit and risk. Independent UK guidance states that inactivated vaccines do not pose a risk to breastfed infants, making adverse effects through milk highly unlikely.
meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed) interactions
Relevant practical interactions and co-administration issues include:
Other vaccines
Several routine vaccines may be given at the same appointment using separate sites, although co-administration can increase fever and local reactions in infants.
Immunosuppressive treatments
Impaired immune responsiveness may reduce the antibody response to vaccination.
Terminal complement inhibitors, such as eculizumab
Recipients remain at increased risk of invasive MenB disease even if vaccine antibodies develop.
Common questions about meningococcal group-B vaccine (rDNA, component, adsorbed)
Answers are fully visible for fast scanning and source review.
What does it protect against?
It helps prevent invasive disease caused by meningococcal group B bacteria, including meningitis and sepsis.
Is it a live vaccine?
No. It contains selected bacterial proteins and an outer-membrane component, not live meningococcal bacteria.
Sources
These sources were used to prepare and review this medicine page.
Prepared and reviewed by the iatroX editorial team.