BCG Tuberculosis

About BCG Tuberculosis

Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin developed the BCG Bacille Calmette Guerin vaccine at the Pasteur Institute in Lille. The vaccine was first administered to a human in 1921. BCG is a live attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, passed more than 200 times through bile containing media over 13 years to reduce virulence. BCG is among the most widely administered vaccines in the world, given to billions of people. The vaccine protects children from severe tuberculosis including meningitis and miliary TB. Protection against pulmonary TB in adults is variable. TB remains the deadliest infectious disease globally, killing more than a million people annually. WHO policy supports BCG vaccination at birth in countries with a high tuberculosis burden. BCG is rarely used in the US because of variable efficacy and interference with TB skin testing.