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A national advisory panel has advised the provinces and territories not to adopt for general use a new meningitis vaccine, saying the additional strains it protects against rarely cause disease in Canada.

While experts say the advice makes good public health sense because of limited financial resources, the decision comes in the wake of the tragic death of a B.C. teenager who was infected by one of the rare strains covered by the vaccine.

In its recommendation, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization advised against general use of Menactra, which protects against four strains of meningococcal bacteria: A, C, Y and W135.

Most invasive meningococcal disease in Canada is caused by the B and C strains.

There is no vaccine that protects against the B strain. But several vaccines protect against C, and all provinces and territories have added one or the other of them to their free-vaccine programs in recent years.

Brodie Campbell, age 15, of Coquitlam, B.C., died in late April after being infected with the Y strain.

The advisory committee, known as NACI, only makes recommendations. Provinces and territories can decide to adopt the vaccine if they wish. But it is thought most will stick with the existing vaccines for cost reasons.

If they do decide not to provide the vaccine for free, individual parents could still choose to have their children vaccinated with it. But it would be at their own cost.

NACI does recommend Menactra for people at high risk of contracting invasive meningococcal disease, including laboratory workers, people with chronic illnesses and those travelling to parts of the world where the A, Y and W135 strains are more common.