Africa Re-Embraces BCG Vaccinations to Reduce Tuberculosis

The COVID-19 pandemic's disruption to health services in Africa has seen an increase in tuberculosis (Tb) deaths. At the same time, the decline in new cases slowed down, according to an analysis announced today by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The African region is home to 17 of the 30 countries globally with the highest tuberculosis burden.

However, the region has progressed against tuberculosis, reducing cases by 19% between 2015 and 2020.

However, the region reported 549,000 deaths in 2020, increasing around 2,000 over 2019. At the same time, cases fell modestly by 2.5% in 2020.

The WHO End Tuberculosis Strategy sets key targets to end the disease throughout Africa by leveraging a 100-year-old vaccine.

The Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine is an attenuated, live culture preparation of the BCG strain of Mycobacterium Bovis.

The BCG germ is related to the one that causes tuberculosis, but it doesn't usually cause severe disease.

Tuberculosis emerged as a significant concern in the aftermath of World War II.

The use of BCG was subsequently encouraged in many countries, particularly by UNICEF, Scandinavian Red Cross Societies, and then by the WHO. As a result, the WHO adopted requirements for the BCG vaccine in 1965.

Historically, about 100 million children received BCG vaccination annually.

Evidence from the past two decades suggests that BCG has specific benefits against tuberculous infections in newborn babies and older adults and offers immunotherapeutic benefits in certain malignancies, reported The Lancet on September 7, 2021. 

The BCG vaccine is not widely used in the United States, but it is often given to infants and small children in other countries where TB is common, says the U.S. CDC.

If you were vaccinated with BCG, you might react positively to a TB skin test. This reaction may be due to the BCG vaccine itself or due to infection with the TB bacteria.

Moreover, the CDC says the BCG vaccine does not always protect people from getting TB.

For reference, the BCG Atlas is an open-source database of global BCG vaccination policies and practices.