Preclinical immunogenicity and functional activity studies of an A+W meningococcal outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccine and comparisons with existing meningococcal conjugate- and polysaccharide vaccines.

•A meningococcal bivalent A+W dOMV vaccine was made from representative bacterial strains from the African meningitis belt.•The functional immune responses induced in mice by the A+W dOMV vaccine or licensed vaccines were compared.•The A+W dOMV vaccine induced higher SBA and OPA titers against serogroups A and W than the ACYW conjugate vaccine Menveo®.•The A+W dOMV vaccine induced similar serogroup A SBA and OPA titers as the monovalent A conjugate vaccine MenAfriVac®.•The A+W dOMV vaccine could be a future alternative or supplement to existing vaccines in the African meningitis belt.