When are children vaccinated with BCG and how many times

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Doctors inform parents about when and how many times BCG is given to children. The procedure has its own contraindications and advantages, which were again talked about against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. We will tell you what it is from, and what its decryption means.

Decoding of BCG vaccination and what it is from

For the first time, mycobacteria that increase the virulence of cattle to tuberculosis were obtained by French microbiologists Albert Calmette and Jean-Marie Camille Guerin in 1912. The name of the vaccine was taken by analogy with the French spelling of the capital letters of the names of scientists - Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, that is, Bacillus Calmette-Guérin.

For many decades, the drug has been tested on various animals. The problem of long-term storage of living bacteria, provoking the creation of stable immunity to tuberculosis in humans, was also solved.

The first child was vaccinated in 1926, and soon the drug was recommended for widespread use. Now 31 countries carry out vaccination and revaccination of BCG on a mandatory basis during primary immunization, 150 states strongly recommend their residents to vaccinate newborn children.

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin is used exclusively to develop the body's resistance to tuberculosis. Supplied to polyclinics in the form of a lyophilisate (dry substance), when used, it is diluted with sodium chloride. Long-term storage of the finished product is prohibited.

There is a more gentle version of the vaccine, with a smaller amount of mycobacteria in the composition - BCG-M. This type of drug is administered:

• if the baby was born prematurely;
• when, due to various health problems, the optimal timing of vaccination was missed;
• if the newborn weighs less than 2.5 kg at the time of the first breath;
• if the territory in which the new citizen lives belongs to an area with a consistently good epidemiological situation.

By the way, selective immunization is carried out in Switzerland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg. The situation with tuberculosis in these countries in recent centuries has been so good that parents were allowed to vaccinate their children against the disease at their discretion.

When and how many times

For a long time, vaccination was carried out immediately in the hospital, when the baby is just born, or after discharge from it. Scientists agreed that the procedure should be performed several times in order to get a lasting result. Today, BCG vaccination is carried out 2 times - on the 3-7th day after childbirth and when the child reaches 7 years of age.

Since 2020, it was planned to refuse revaccination with BCG and BCG-M vaccines at the age of 7 and 14 due to the improvement of the epidemiological situation in Russia. How experts will analyze the state of affairs in the light of recent events is still unknown.

Before the advent of a new type of coronavirus, the indications for vaccination were the following factors:

• the child's residence in an area where there are 80 patients at tuberculosis dispensaries for every 100 thousand of the population;
• the baby was born into a family with carriers of the disease;
• the new person became a resident of a region with an unfavorable endemiological situation.

Often, a family doctor prescribes revaccination, especially if the child's relatives can infect the baby with mycobacterium resistant to the classic antibiotic.

Complications after vaccination

Disputes over the advisability of vaccinating children against tuberculosis are caused by the increased incidence of complications:

• lymphadenitis;
• an ulcer;
• keloid scars;
• abscesses;
• lupus;
• osteomyelitis;
• allergic syndrome.

Basically, all these problems are caused by the fact that the baby is born with some type of pathology, which leads to a decrease in local immunity. Doctors are required to examine the newborn before the introduction of BCG and vaccinate only a completely healthy child.

If the baby for some reason cannot receive the vaccine, the timing of the event should be postponed. In accordance with this, an individual immunization schedule is calculated, since it is forbidden to do BCG less than a month after previous similar procedures. In any individual case, only the doctor decides when to vaccinate children with BCG and how many times.

Summarize

1. The appearance of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin saved the planet from extinction.
2. The vaccine protects the population of countries with an unfavorable epidemiological situation against tuberculosis.
3. BCG can only be vaccinated after a thorough examination.
4. In 2020, it was planned to abandon the revaccination of children 7 and 14 years old with the drug.