BCG administered shortly after birth: Evaluation of the protection obtained six years after vaccination

BCG administered at birth has been shown to be safe. We have seen no incident or accident which could be attributed to it. BCG administered at birth has been shown to induce a good post-vaccination allergy : 92% of children presented a post-vaccination allergy detectable four and a half months after vaccination. 99% re-examined at 6 years were shown to be positive. This leads us to believe that the reinforcement of the allergy in this group is perhaps partly due to the degree of contagion present in the environment or to other causes. No case of tuberculosis was found amongst the 645 children (of 900) reviewed at 6 years. Amongst the 26 who had died, death was usually due to an infectious disease unrelated to tuberculosis.