In September 2002, WHO began asking top vaccine makers to develop a low-cost treatment for the W135 form of meningitis after an outbreak of the disease occurred in Burkina Faso. Until then, the disease had only sporadically affected those in the 21 countries that compose Africa's so-called meningitis belt.

GlaxoSmithKline "responded favorably and developed the vaccine in just a few months," WHO said in a statement.

The initial supply of the vaccine--roughly 3 million doses, paid for mostly by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation--will be shipped to meningitis belt nations for use in upcoming months, and will cost about $1.50 per dose. WHO said that the only other treatment available for W135 costs between $5 and $50.

The first 100,000 doses of the vaccine are now being shipped to Burkina Faso, where 1,349 cases of W135 meningitis have been confirmed, 244 of which have been fatal.

"It is possible that the W135 strain will not remain contained in Burkina Faso, but that it will spread to other countries in the meningitis belt," Daniel Tarantola, director of vaccines and biologicals at WHO, said. "But we have great hopes that this newly formulated vaccine will save many lives."