The Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, vaccine is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis, named after its inventors Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin. In countries where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, one dose is recommended in healthy babies as soon after birth as possible, while in areas where tuberculosis is not common only children at high risk are typically immunized. Rates of protection vary widely and protection lasts up to twenty years; among children it prevents about 20 percent from becoming infected and protects half of those infected from developing disease. It is made from a weakened but still live strain of Mycobacterium bovis, the bacterium commonly found in cattle. The BCG vaccine was first used medically in 1921, is given to about 100 million children per year globally, and is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, though it is not commonly administered in the United States.
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Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The BCG vaccine was first used medically in 1921.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCG_vaccine, lead section
The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is a vaccine primarily used against tuberculosis (TB).
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the BCG vaccine given to?
Healthy newborns where tuberculosis is common; only high-risk children elsewhere.
Where tuberculosis or leprosy is common, one dose is recommended for healthy babies as soon after birth as possible. Where tuberculosis is not common, only children at high risk are typically immunized. Protection against infection varies widely and lasts up to twenty years.
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