On what day is BCG done? Why do you get the BCG vaccine?

The BCG vaccination is the first vaccination that all babies receive before they even leave the hospital. Despite the fact that it is mandatory for everyone, many parents refuse it because they read somewhere on the Internet or heard from friends about the terrible consequences for the child. But you can’t immediately abandon this one because of this, because it’s not for nothing that everyone makes it. First, you need to learn everything about BCG, its decoding, what it even is and in what cases it is needed. This is what we will talk about in this article.

BCG transcript

BCG is the Latin abbreviation BCG, read in Cyrillic, which means bacillus Calmette–Guerin, which translated into Russian means “bacillus Calmette-Guerin.”

This special anti-tuberculosis vaccine is prepared from a weakened strain of the tuberculosis bacillus. The source is a sick cow. The vaccine does not pose a danger to humans, as it is grown in an artificial environment.

What is she doing:

prevents the development of the most dangerous form of tuberculosis - open;
significantly reduces the chances of a heavy stroke;
Thanks to vaccination, the percentage of sick children has significantly decreased.

Considering such positive factors, BCG vaccination in newborns is carried out on the third or fourth day of life, if no contraindications are identified. If necessary, it is done two more times, but more on that later.

Important! The vaccine is diluted exclusively with the supplied solvent, otherwise it will lose its effectiveness.

BCG-m

BCG-m is the same vaccine as the regular one, only it contains half the dose of microbacteria. It is made prematurely or contraindications to the full version have been established.

It is also used to vaccinate children older than one week in cases where for some reason this was not done earlier.

For babies under one year old who live in an area with a very high incidence of tuberculosis on a regular basis.
Babies and children studying at school due to the high chances of contracting this dangerous disease due to individual reasons.
Adults when they are in constant contact with people with resistant tuberculosis.

When to get vaccinated: vaccination schedule

BCG vaccination is mandatory in all CIS countries, since these countries are included in the zone of high prevalence of tuberculosis, so parents should be aware of when it is done.

From what age?

The first vaccination is given within the walls of the maternity hospital under the careful guidance of doctors, and if any negative reactions occur, they are immediately eliminated.

Important! Parents have every right to refuse vaccination if they believe it is not necessary.

How many times?

The vaccination schedule is as follows:

3-7 days from birth;
7 years from birth;
14 years from birth.

At the ages of 7 and 14 years, not everyone is vaccinated against tuberculosis.

First, children are vaccinated and all children at school experience this.

Based on its results, a decision is made on revaccination.

If the diameter of the papule is larger than required, then the child is at risk and is sent for BCG again.

Did you know? According to WHO, about one third of the world's population is infected with the bacterium tuberculosis, but only a small proportion of them begin to progress and develop the disease.

How and where to give the injection

The standard injection site is the outer shoulder of the left arm. The vaccine is administered only inside the skin, and subcutaneous and intramuscular injections are prohibited.

It happens that it is impossible to give an injection in the shoulder, then they choose a place on the body that has the same thick skin.

Contraindications

BCG vaccination cannot be done if:

prematurity (baby weighs less than 2500 g);
the presence of severe ones (in this case, the injection will be given when the child recovers);
intrauterine infection;
purulent-septic diseases;
spicy;
skin lesions;
malignant neoplasms;
primary immunodeficiency;
radiation therapy;
the presence of a child with tuberculosis in the family;
taking immunosuppressants;
HIV infection in the mother.

Revaccination is not carried out if:

acute diseases of an infectious and non-infectious nature;
severe;
immunodeficiency;
positive or questionable Mantoux reaction;
malignant blood diseases and neoplasms;
radiation therapy;
taking immunosuppressants;
tuberculosis;
complicated reactions to previous vaccinations;
contact with tuberculosis patients.

Important! The doctor must clarify the presence of the above contraindications, otherwise deviations from the norm and complications may occur.

Reaction and possible complications: how does the vaccination proceed?

The BCG vaccination can cause a certain reaction in a particular child and therefore parents must be aware of how it proceeds and what the norm may be.

After the vaccination, the baby will have a characteristic injection mark about 1 cm in diameter, white in color. After several months, it disappears and a scar appears in its place.
But it happens that after the injection some additional reactions may occur, but which are also the norm:

the area around the injection is red and inflamed;
pus and an abscess forms at the injection site;
a rise in body temperature to 38° (this reaction is rare, but if it does occur, you should immediately go to the hospital).

All these reactions are normal; the child’s body fights the infection and develops immunity to it. Sometimes there is no reaction to the injection. This means that the required effect of the vaccine has not been achieved.

Important! If your child does not have a reaction to the BCG vaccine, this does not indicate that your child has tuberculosis.

Most likely, your child’s body is simply not ready to develop a protective barrier against the tuberculosis bacillus. In such cases, the vaccination is carried out again.

What you should be afraid of are complications that may arise due to doctors ignoring the presence of contraindications.

They may be as follows:

inflammation of the lymph nodes (indicates that the vaccine has entered the lymph nodes; surgery will most likely be required);
too large area of suppuration (with weak immunity);
osteomyelitis (poor vaccine quality);
cold abscess (begins 1-1.5 months after injection due to subcutaneous administration of the vaccine);
an ulcer with a diameter greater than 10 mm (appears in children sensitive to the components of the vaccine, treated locally);
keloid scar;
general BCG infection;
Osteitis (bone tuberculosis; a severe complication that occurs after 0.5-2 years due to impaired functioning of the immune system).

Many parents change their minds about vaccination just when they are faced with a list of possible complications.

However, we should not forget that such things can only arise due to the incompetence of the doctors administering the vaccine.

Therefore, it is worth finding out in advance about your child’s condition, talking to the doctor who will administer the vaccine and finding out everything about the vaccine that will be administered.

If you are well informed about the upcoming procedure, the risk of complications will be minimal.

BCG vaccine: pros and cons

Let's summarize and consider all the pros and cons of BCG. First, let's list the obvious advantages of the procedure:

minimizes the chances of contracting tuberculosis;
if a person does become infected, the disease will be mild with minimal consequences;
excludes death from;
The injection site does not require special care; you simply do not need to touch it again.

But despite such significant advantages, this vaccine has many opponents and there are certain reasons for this:

the occurrence of severe complications due to violations of injection technology, poor quality of the vaccine itself, or undetected contraindications;
the area where the injection was given can take a very long time to heal;
The vaccination mark remains forever.

OK it's all over Now. Now you know everything about the BCG vaccination, why and why it is needed. Before making a decision, talk to specialists and study in detail all the features of this vaccination. We hope that our article helped you make the right choice. Health to you and your children!

BCG M is a gentle preventive vaccination against tuberculosis, which is given to premature newborn babies in the maternity hospital. Vaccination does not protect a child from the disease, but it does prevent a serious complication, which is life-threatening for young children.

The BCG M vaccine differs from the usual vaccine in its lightweight composition; the preparation contains half of the inactivated mycobacteria. The introduction of a gentle drug is recommended for children with Rh-conflict to the mother, with neurological disorders after complications during labor, if the weight of the newborn is less than two kilograms.

The first BCG vaccine is administered in the maternity hospital on days 3–5 of the baby’s life; it does not protect against the insidious disease, but promotes the production of antibodies in the body to prevent fatal complications:

tuberculous meningitis;
disseminated and miliary tuberculosis;
bone damage;
clinical condition.

The child’s fragile body cannot cope with such forms of the disease, treatment is ineffective, and the disease ends in death.

The booster vaccine is administered at the age of seven, with the next revaccination at the age of 14.

There are cases when immunization is postponed until discharge from the maternity hospital for the following reasons:

the child has an immunodeficiency;
if family members have experienced severe consequences of vaccination.

The vaccine is administered by a medical professional after examining the child by a pediatrician; the procedure is prohibited at home. It is recommended that your child have a urine and blood test before the injection.

The injection is made with a thin tuberculin syringe with a cut.

The drug should not be used if it is missing:

marking on the ampoule;
the mixture has expired;
any changes in the drug, foreign flakes in the powder are observed;
There is damage to the ampoule.

The dry product is diluted immediately before administration with sodium chloride solution. The BCG M vaccine is administered intradermally; failure to comply with this rule causes a number of complications, leading to a cold abscess.

A papule up to 10 mm in size forms at the injection site; a normal reaction develops 4–6 weeks after the injection. The injection site should not be damaged, especially during water procedures, should not be covered with adhesive tape, or lubricated with various ointments and creams.

How to get rid of the risk of complications?

To protect your baby from serious consequences, it is important to consult an experienced pediatrician. Only a specialist will adequately assess the child’s condition and give permission to carry out the procedure.

Before and after the manipulation, you must follow the following tips:

Before the injection, do an allergy test, which will allow you to assess the body's reaction to the introduction of tuberculin.
After the procedure, it is forbidden to wet the injection site, smear it with peroxide, brilliant green, glue a band-aid, or remove the scab yourself.
If the wound is suppurating, do not squeeze out the pus; you can lightly blot it with a napkin.
A few days before the procedure, it is better not to change your diet or add new mixtures to your diet. This will allow you to correctly assess the cause of a possible allergic reaction.

While staying in the maternity hospital, you must follow all the doctors' recommendations. After discharge, monitor the baby’s condition, and if there are any deviations, immediately contact a pediatrician.

The reaction to the BCG M vaccine is observed two months after the injection. First, suppuration forms, then the wound becomes covered with a characteristic crust. After healing, a scar remains with a diameter of no more than 10 mm. All this time you need to protect the wound from mechanical damage, especially when swimming.

Complications after administration of the drug are extremely rare; the following processes may occur:

A cold abscess develops when the drug is administered incorrectly; such a violation requires surgical intervention.
The formation of ulcers occurs when the body is hypersensitive to the active substance.
The inflammatory process occurs due to the entry of bacilli into the lymph nodes; the complication requires emergency treatment under the supervision of doctors.
A keloid scar occurs due to a specific reaction to the drug; in such cases, revaccination is not carried out at the age of seven.
With serious disorders of the immune system, a generalized infection occurs.
Bone tuberculosis is diagnosed after two years of vaccination and occurs in one in two hundred thousand.

It is very difficult to prevent such serious consequences; they cannot be detected in a newborn child. It is important to carry out the procedure correctly and observe the body’s reaction. If your health condition is compromised, you should immediately contact a specialist.

Contraindications

Vaccination is not carried out if the child has the following contraindications:

Regular BCG vaccination is not given to newborns weighing less than 2.5 kg;
any vaccination is contraindicated in case of immunodeficiency;
Vaccination is prohibited for hemolytic disease, intrauterine infection, purulent diseases, skin rashes;
malignant neoplasms, problems with the nervous system;
if the mother is diagnosed with HIV infection;
Repeated vaccination is not carried out if the primary vaccination was accompanied by complications.

It is contraindicated to carry out other manipulations on the day of drug administration. It is necessary to wait a month between preventive vaccinations. The hepatitis B vaccine is compatible with BCG, but the difference between injections is three days.

Many parents, having heard all the contraindications and side effects from the doctor, refuse vaccination in the maternity hospital. More often, the refusal is based on the harmfulness of the additives - mercury and phenol, which are part of the drug. But the vaccine is not produced without these preservatives. Parents write a written refusal to undergo vaccination; all responsibility for adverse consequences falls on them.

It is important to understand that this drug is the only preventative measure to protect your child from severe complications caused by tuberculosis.

If vaccination is prohibited, it is necessary to completely protect the child from contact with infected people.

In most cases, vaccination does not cause complications, but is of great benefit in case of tuberculosis infection. Therefore, you need to think carefully about your actions and consult with a good specialist who will suggest the right decision.

As an alternative, a weakened stamp of mycobacteria, the BCG M vaccine, can be used to prevent serious consequences of tuberculosis disease.

Tuberculosis is a potentially fatal disease that is common in all countries and on all continents to varying degrees. But this problem is especially relevant in the post-Soviet space.

In recent years, TB doctors have been continuously sounding the alarm, urging people every year undergo tuberculosis diagnosis.

But the most susceptible to this disease are not healthy adults, but newborns and children under 4 years of age. It is for this reason that in our country mandatory vaccination against tuberculosis is carried out in the maternity hospital.

What is the BCG-M vaccination?

BZhTS-M is a tuberculosis vaccine intended for primary immunization and revaccination of young children. The name of the vaccine is a complete translation from English. BCG - abbreviation of the phrase bacillus Calmette-Guerin, which is translated into Russian as bacillus Calmette-Guerin. The letter M is also a tracing paper, the first letter of the word mild, which is translated as weakened.

BCG vaccine and BCG-M: what is the difference? The difference in composition

One dose of the BCG vaccine contains 0.05 mg live mycobacteria bovine tuberculosis (M.bovis). The stabilizer monosodium glutamate is used as an excipient in an amount 0.3 mg.

The BCG-M vaccine also contains mycobacterium bovine tuberculosis, but, unlike BCG, in a halved quantity: the content of mycobacteria in BCG-M is only 0.025 mg per dose for a single dose. Monosodium glutamate is also used as a stabilizer, but in an amount 0.1 mg.

Important! The BCG-M vaccine appeared much later than BCG, which was invented and introduced into widespread medical practice at the beginning of the 20th century, when it became clear that the use of BCG is not possible in all cases and not in all conditions of the vaccinated child, and also in some situations the introduction of such a large amount live bacteria is not necessary.

Indications for instructions and contraindications

How are the two vaccines different? The main purpose of the BCG-M vaccine, like regular BCG, is to protect the baby from tuberculosis infection.

But even a correctly administered BCG-M vaccination and obtaining a sufficient immune response does not provide any guarantee against infection with Koch’s bacillus and other mycobacteria.

It only significantly reduces the likelihood of a child developing such severe and poorly treatable generalized forms of tuberculosis as tuberculous meningitis and disseminated tuberculosis.

The main indications, according to the instructions, for the use of BCG-M instead of BCG are:

prematurity of a newborn baby(in this case, a prerequisite for vaccination is the baby’s body weight is more than 2 kg);
primary immunization not performed for any reason in the first days of life within the walls of the maternity hospital or during the nursing stage (in this case, a preliminary staging of the Mantoux reaction is required);
secondary vaccination of previously vaccinated children aged 7 and 14 years after performing the Mantoux reaction;
the child's tendency to the occurrence of allergic and other immune reactions;
the baby has neurological pathologies, history of seizures, birth trauma;
weakness, immaturity of the newborn;
favorable epidemiological situation in the child’s country of residence.

Important! Despite the fact that the BCG-M vaccine is as gentle as possible, it has contraindications.

In the following situations, BCG-M is strictly contraindicated:

extreme prematurity of the newborn (body weight does not exceed 2 kg);
intrauterine infection;
any acute disease at the time of proposed vaccination;
Moderate or severe blood type or Rh factor conflict(level of bilirubin in blood plasma above 300 units);
severe neurological disorders, intractable seizures;
purulent infections;
reliably diagnosed primary immunodeficiency;
oncological diseases of the organs and hematopoietic system;
recently completed chemotherapy or radiation therapy;
proven active tuberculosis process;
HIV infection in mother(medical withdrawal is given until the child is deregistered at the AIDS center) and HIV infection in the child.

Because of such an impressive list of contraindications, before receiving the BLC-M vaccine, the child is carefully examined by the treating neonatologists or pediatricians to identify all kinds of pathologies.

Decoding the reaction

Most children tolerate BCG-M well or satisfactorily and do not show any unusual reactions. But in some cases, changes occur in the child’s condition and behavior. Usually they do not require seeing a doctor or medical intervention and go away on their own within a few hours or days.

Photo 1. The appearance of hyperemia and slight swelling after BCG-M vaccination is usually not a cause for concern.

Most often, there is a slight increase in temperature to subfebrile and febrile numbers ( no higher than 38°C), unexpressed lethargy and apathy, short-term loss of interest in the outside world, drowsiness, lack of appetite. Local reactions are also common: slight hyperemia and swelling appear at the injection site.

All of the above reactions are the absolute norm and are not a reason for worry or worry. But in a number of situations, it is still worth being wary and showing the baby to a specialist if the decoding gives rise to concern. Such situations are already called complications.

Complications: Recognize and Take Action

Compared to BCG, BCG-M causes complications much less frequently, but the occurrence of complications cannot be completely excluded. Experts highlight 4 main categories of complications.

To the first category include non-severe and moderate local complications. They represent subcutaneous infiltration, the appearance of purulent abscesses, necrosis and ulceration. In almost 100% of cases, local complications develop due to a violation of the vaccine administration technique, violation of the rules of septic and asepsis, and violations of the methods and terms of storage of BCG-M.

The only local complication not related to errors in vaccination is regional enlargement of the lymph nodes. It occurs due to the individual immune reaction of the child.

Photo 2. A purulent abscess at the vaccination site appears due to improper administration of the vaccine.

To the second category include the so-called BCGit. This is an extremely rare complication for a healthy child. It represents the dissemination of the tubercle bacilli contained in the vaccine throughout the body and the development of an active tuberculosis process. This type of BCG responds well to antibiotic therapy and always results in complete recovery.

To the third category include BCGitis, which developed in immunocompromised children. In its pathogenesis and symptoms, it is similar to the complication of the second category, but almost always ends in the death of the patient, since even combined anti-tuberculosis therapy in loading doses does not provide a sufficient therapeutic effect.

And to the fourth, the last category includes allergic and immune complications. The most common types are erythema, granuloma, urticaria and epidermal necrolysis.

Important! When the first signs of complications from any category appear, it is imperative to immediately contact your treating pediatrician, and if symptoms rapidly increase and are severe, call an ambulance. Without the provision of proper medical care, disability or even death of the patient cannot be ruled out. Self-medication of complications is fraught with deterioration of the patient’s condition.

Where to get vaccinated and how does the price differ in different institutions?

The location of vaccination is not important. BCG-M is performed both in public clinics and in private medical centers. The choice of location is determined by the personal preferences of the parents, their financial capabilities, as well as the requirements for comfort and attentiveness of the staff.

Only experienced nurses who have undergone special training and have the appropriate certificate are allowed to perform vaccinations, so the quality of services is approximately the same in all medical institutions. However, in order to receive a high-quality and safe service, it is recommended to choose trusted and licensed clinics and vaccination centers.

BCG M is a lightweight version of the BCG anti-tuberculosis vaccine. It is used as a replacement for the usual one, in unusual situations when vaccination may harm the baby’s health. Let us consider in more detail when the BCG M vaccine is used and how it differs from the standard vaccination.

Explanation: BCG and BCG M - a Russified version of the Latin abbreviation BCG, named after the developers of the vaccine bacillus Gelmette-Guerin - bacillus Calmette-Guerin. M - modified drug.

Composition and release

Composition of the vaccine: Active ingredient: anti-tuberculosis vaccine - live microbial bodies of the bovine tuberculosis bacillus BCG-1.

Additionally, it comes with a 0.9 percent sodium chloride solution.

Release: vacuum ampoules with dry anthophyllite (powder, tablets) - 0.5 milligrams (twenty doses), dissolving liquid - 2 milliliters.
Pack: five sets.
Shelf life: one year.
Storage conditions: at a temperature of five to eight degrees Celsius.

Properties and purpose

The lightweight vaccine contains live mycobacteria, which, when they enter the child’s body, multiply, allowing him to be immunized against tuberculosis.

Prescribed as a gentle anti-tuberculosis vaccination.

Instructions for use

Administration technique: The vaccine is administered inside the skin, in no case under the skin or intramuscularly, at the attachment point of the deltoid muscle of the left shoulder. Before this, you need to treat the skin with 70% alcohol.

Dose: 0.025 milligrams of active substance dissolved in 0.1 milliliter of sodium chloride.

The vaccine is prepared before use, in a container protected from sunlight, and stored in a diluted state for one hour, at a temperature of two to eight degrees Celsius.

Reaction: A small nodule-papule appears at the injection site, healing for quite a long time (up to three months), then a scar remains there, which is used to determine whether the vaccine was given or not.

Application

A light form of vaccination is used in the following situations:

in premature babies;

low birth weight newborns;
when there is a Rh conflict with the mother;
there are minor neurological disorders in the baby;
after discharge home;
in a favorable situation with tuberculosis spread.

Instructions for use require:

Children under two months old who were not vaccinated in the maternity hospital are vaccinated in clinics or other medical clinics without undergoing diagnostic procedures.
Children over two months old must undergo a Mantoux test before vaccination. Vaccination is carried out no earlier than three days and no later than two weeks, after diagnosis, with a negative tuberculin test.

Contraindications

The contraindications for the BCG and BCG M vaccines are not very different, but there is still a difference.

As for the modified vaccine, it cannot be used for:

the child weighs less than two kilograms;
the presence of an acute form of an infectious disease;
exacerbation of chronic diseases;
immunodeficiency;
HIV-infected mother;
allergic reactions to vaccine components;
presence of a relative who has had a generalized BCG infection;
the presence of a severe form of neurological diseases;
detection of various neoplasms;
therapeutic actions that weaken the immune system.

Unlike BCG, BCG M can be used later, after eliminating some contraindications.

For example:

after the baby gains weight (two kilograms or more);
when a child recovers from infectious diseases (after a month);
in a non-acute form of a chronic disease that does not affect the child’s immunity;
possible at 18 months, with an HIV-infected mother, if the child himself does not have HIV;
if therapeutic actions that reduce immunity are stopped and the child is healthy (after six months).

Complications

Administration of the vaccine in a lighter form can also cause complications. Your child may exhibit the following symptoms:

temperature increase;
signs of a cold, such as cough, runny nose;
decreased activity, manifestation of weakness.

It is necessary to immediately consult a doctor. So, these may be the first signs of complications.

The reaction that causes complications after BCG m (light vaccine) and the reaction after a regular vaccination are similar, they manifest themselves in the form of:

Cold abscess;
Formations of lymphadenitis;
Keloid scar;
Lesions of the skeletal system;
BCG infections.

Cold abscess

Parents, having heard about complications, often refuse vaccination, thus exposing their child to the risk of contracting a fatal disease.

Adults just need to know that complications occur very rarely and only with violations:

the vaccination was given to a child with contraindications;
the baby has a severely reduced immune system;
the technique of administering the vaccine is violated.

Therefore, it is so important that parents insist on diagnostic actions in relation to the child and choose qualified specialists for vaccination. And also, we followed all preventive actions during the post-vaccination period.

comparison table

Let’s summarize how BCG differs from BCG M.

Manufacturers of tuberculosis vaccines

Currently, there are about forty manufacturers of tuberculosis vaccines. In the Russian Federation and the CIS, as a rule, they use domestic and Danish production.

According to WHO, the best are:

BCG vaccine produced by Microgen, Russian Federation.
BCG M produced by Microgen, Russian Federation.
BCG SSI made in Denmark.
Inoculum Merrier - France.
Lyophilized glutamate - Japan.

is a dangerous infectious disease that affects more than 50,000 people in Russia every year, including children under 14 years of age. To protect the child population from the most severe forms of tuberculosis, many countries around the world carry out mass immunization of newborns with the BCG or BCG-m vaccine.

History of vaccine use

BCG is the only existing and internationally recognized vaccine against tuberculosis; it is prepared from weakened bovine tuberculosis bacilli grown under artificial conditions. The first doses of this drug suitable for use in humans were created back in 1921, but immunoprophylaxis of tuberculosis became widespread only after the end of World War II.

Today, BCG vaccination is included in the national immunization calendars in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and other countries. Some European countries have abandoned mass immunization of young children against tuberculosis and are vaccinating older children and children at risk.

In 1985, children with contraindications to the BCG vaccine were given the BCG-m vaccine. This immunobiological drug has a lower antigenic load (the number of mycobacteria in one dose of the drug) and is considered more gentle for those vaccinated.

The effectiveness of BCG vaccination

The issue of the effectiveness of BCG vaccination has recently received special attention. This excitement is caused by large discrepancies in the results of studies on the effectiveness of the tuberculosis vaccine in different regions. Scientists suggest that this ambiguity in the data obtained is due to the following factors:

Important! The only proven fact that does not require confirmation is the protective effect of BCG against two forms of tuberculosis in children (they are the most severe) - tuberculous and disseminated tuberculosis. But vaccinations do not prevent infection with mycobacteria and activation of “dormant” tuberculosis. This significant disadvantage of the current BCG vaccine provides an incentive for the development and testing of new vaccines against tuberculosis with more pronounced protective properties.

While there are no more effective immunobiological drugs, WHO recommends the use of BCG. Moreover, in countries with a high incidence of tuberculosis and the presence of open forms of the disease in many patients (when the patient releases mycobacteria into the environment), all children who do not have contraindications must be vaccinated in the coming days after birth.

Adults are not vaccinated against tuberculosis, since almost all of them are positive, and regardless of what caused such a reaction (BCG vaccination given in childhood, or mycobacterium obtained from the environment), additional doses of an immunobiological drug will not enhance anti-tuberculosis immunity.

Should I do BCG?

Russia, Ukraine and other post-Soviet states are among the countries in which tuberculosis is widespread. Both adults and children suffer from it. Many of these patients secrete Mycobacterium tuberculosis and are not isolated, therefore they pose a great danger to others.

In such an unfavorable epidemiological situation, a newborn child can encounter this terrible infection anywhere: at the entrance (after all, you cannot be sure that all the neighbors are healthy), a clinic, a store, and even at home (close families may well not know about their disease ). Therefore, all young children must have protection against tuberculosis, which today can only be provided by BCG vaccination.

BCG: timing

In accordance with the Russian national vaccination calendar, vaccination against tuberculosis is carried out in the maternity hospital on the 3-7th day of a newborn’s life (usually before discharge). If there are contraindications, immunization is postponed, and when the time comes, it is done not in the maternity hospital, but in the clinic to which the child is assigned.

Delaying BCG vaccination has significant disadvantages:

If the child will be more than 2 months old at the time of the planned vaccination, he must first have it done.
Carrying out BCG vaccination not according to schedule leads to a shift in all other vaccinations (after BCG, no immunobiological drugs should be administered for at least 1 month).
There is no certainty that during the delay, infection with mycobacteria will not occur and the child will not develop a severe form of tuberculosis.

These disadvantages should be paid special attention to those parents who spare their child and postpone vaccinations “for later.”

Revaccination against tuberculosis, unlike other infectious diseases controlled by immunoprophylaxis, is not carried out for all children who received the BCG vaccine in infancy. The indication for revaccination, which is carried out at the age of 6-7 years, is a negative Mantoux test (this result indicates a lack of immunity to tuberculosis).

BCG: contraindications

Anti-tuberculosis vaccination in the maternity hospital is not carried out if the following contraindications exist:

Children with contraindications are vaccinated with a weakened BCG-m vaccine after complete recovery.

Revaccination also has its contraindications:

Positive or questionable Mantoux test.
Tuberculosis, present or past.
Any acute diseases.
Pathological reaction to BCG vaccination.
Immunodeficiencies.
Treatment with immunosuppressants and radioactive rays.
Contact with an infectious patient (re-vaccination is carried out after the end of quarantine).

Scar after BCG vaccination

The BCG vaccine is administered into the left shoulder strictly intradermally. In this place, on average, after 4-6 weeks, a red lump appears - this is a local specific reaction, which indicates the formation of immunity to tuberculosis. The compaction gradually transforms into an abscess, after resolution of which a small scar remains.

The BCG-m vaccination also provokes the appearance of a local reaction on the baby’s shoulder, but it is less pronounced and does not leave a scar. After revaccination, a small infiltrate and subsequent abscess appear several weeks faster, since the body is already “familiar” with the injected pathogen.

There is no need to be afraid of these post-vaccination skin reactions. All that needs to be done is not to interfere with their course: treat the abscess with antiseptics and cauterize the abscess, bandage the shoulder, peel off the crust from the wound and carry out other similar manipulations.

Note: What you need to be afraid of is the lack of reaction to BCG. The absence of changes in the child’s skin within the specified time frame may indicate the low effectiveness of the vaccination.

Possible complications after BCG vaccination

After vaccination and revaccination with BCG, a child may develop complications, but rarely. Among the complications, the most common are local ones, that is, those occurring at the site of vaccine administration, - lymphadenitis (inflammation of regional lymph nodes), large infiltrate, abscess, ulcer, damage to the humerus. All these consequences develop mainly due to improper vaccination.

In weakened children with immunodeficiency, vaccination can provoke a generalized form of BCG infection, and in children prone to allergies, it can cause severe