BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) is the current vaccine for tuberculosis. The absence or presence of a scar is used as an indicator of previous vaccination. OBJECTIVES: To determine the sensitivity of the BCG scar as an indicator of previous vaccination. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive hospital based study of 100 infants attending two centres for routine vaccination and weight checks. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences. RESULTS: We surveyed 100 infants, the BCG scar was present in 83%, the average size of the BCG scar was found to be 3mm. CONCLUSION: The BCG scar is a sensitive indicator of previous vaccination after the administration of the vaccine in the first month of life.
BACKGROUND:Tuberculosis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) is the current vaccine for tuberculosis. The absence or presence of a scar is used as an indicator of previous vaccination. OBJECTIVES: To determine the sensitivity of the BCG scar as an indicator of previous vaccination. METHODS: We conducted a descriptive hospital based study of 100 infants attending two centres for routine vaccination and weight checks. Data analysis was done using statistical package for social sciences. RESULTS: We surveyed 100 infants, the BCG scar was present in 83%, the average size of the BCG scar was found to be 3mm. CONCLUSION: The BCG scar is a sensitive indicator of previous vaccination after the administration of the vaccine in the first month of life.
Authors: Leora R Feldstein; Sarah D Bennett; Concepcion F Estivariz; Gretchen M Cooley; Lauren Weil; Mallick Masum Billah; M Salim Uzzaman; Rajendra Bohara; Maya Vandenent; Jucy Merina Adhikari; Eva Leidman; Mainul Hasan; Saifuddin Akhtar; Andreas Hasman; Laura Conklin; Daniel Ehlman; A Alamgir; Meerjady Sabrina Flora Journal: PLoS Med Date: 2020-03-31 Impact factor: 11.069