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Letters BCG vaccination and TB in children

No proof that BCG protects against infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

BMJ 2014; 349 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g5436 (Published 10 September 2014) Cite this as: BMJ 2014;349:g5436
  1. Richard Turner, clinical research fellow, respiratory medicine1,
  2. Conor Tweed, clinical research fellow, respiratory medicine1,
  3. Graham Bothamley, honorary professor and consultant physician1
  1. 1Homerton University Hospital, London E9 6SR, UK
  1. richard.turner{at}homerton.nhs.uk

BCG protects against primary tuberculosis, but evidence for protection against infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains controversial. Roy and colleagues merely showed that previous BCG vaccination is associated with a reduced frequency of positive interferon γ release assay (IGRA) results in children recently exposed to M tuberculosis.1

A positive IGRA response indicates a previous interaction with M tuberculosis sufficient to lead to …

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