Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. This vaccine is not widely used in the United States, but it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common. BCG does not always protect people from getting TB.

What is the current vaccine for tuberculosis?

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. This vaccine is not widely used in the United States, but it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common. BCG does not always protect people from getting TB.

Why is tuberculosis vaccine not recommended?

However, BCG is not generally recommended for use in the United States because of the low risk of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the variable effectiveness of the vaccine against adult pulmonary TB, and the vaccine’s potential interference with tuberculin skin test reactivity.

Who discovered the M tuberculosis vaccine?

The vaccine was developed over a period of 13 years, from 1908 to 1921, by French bacteriologists Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin, who named the product Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, or BCG. The vaccine is administered shortly after birth only in infants at high risk of tuberculosis.

What strain of Mycobacterium is used for the vaccination of newborns against TB?

BCG (Bacille Calmette–Guérin), derived from Mycobacterium bovis in 1926 [1], is the most widely administered vaccine in the world, with 90.8% global coverage in 2009 [2].

When do you get TB vaccine?

Adults aged 16 to 35 who should have the BCG vaccine BCG vaccination is recommended for people aged 16 to 35 who are at occupational risk of TB exposure, including: healthcare workers or laboratory workers who have either direct contact with patients with TB or with potentially infectious clinical samples and materials.

How effective is TB vaccine?

This vaccine gives protection against tuberculosis (TB) infection. It is 70-80% effective against the most severe forms of TB, such as TB meningitis. However, it is less effective in preventing the form of TB that affects the lungs.

When is tuberculosis vaccine given?

Background. In most tuberculosis (TB) endemic countries, bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) is usually given around birth to prevent severe TB in infants. The neonatal immune system is immature. Our hypothesis was that delaying BCG vaccination from birth to 10 weeks of age would enhance the vaccine-induced immune response.

Can you get TB after vaccine?

The BCG vaccine is not very good at protecting adults against TB. You can still get TB infection or TB disease even if you were vaccinated with BCG.

When was the first TB vaccine?

In 1921, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) tuberculosis vaccine was first administered to a human. The vaccine was developed by French scientists Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin to protect against tuberculosis of the lungs, a leading cause of death in the early 1900s.

When was TB vaccine developed?

But there’s currently only one vaccine approved against TB. And it is 100 years old. The first dose of the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine was administered on July 18 1921. The Conversation Africa’s Ina Skosana poses key questions to Bavesh Kana, one of South Africa’s leading TB researchers.

What type of vaccine is the BCG vaccine?

BCG vaccine