In 2002, an epidemic of meningococcal disease started in Burkina Faso and Neisseria meningitidis serogroup W135 was identified as the causative organism. This event followed the outbreaks of 2000 and 2001 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and was the first large epidemic caused by serogroup W135. Mass vaccination of the population with the only vaccine protecting against W135, i.e. the tetravalent A/C/Y/W135 polysaccharide vaccine (TPSV), was not possible because of the global shortage in supply, in addition to its cost. In 2003, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) produced a trivalent polysaccharide vaccine A/C/W135 for US$ 1.5. This vaccine was used in Burkina Faso in the new epidemic faced by this country in 2003. However, availability and affordability of the tetravalent A/C/Y/W135 polysaccharide vaccine and of the trivalent A/C/W135 polysaccharide vaccine are still under discussion between the WHO and the producers. The risk of further epidemics due to the W135 strain in other African countries is of high concern for the scientific community.