Post-vaccination allergy eleven years after BCG vaccination

Frimodt-Moller, J and Parthasarathy, R and Benjamin, Philip (1962) Post-vaccination allergy eleven years after BCG vaccination. Indian Journal of Tuberculosis, 9 (4). pp. 192-197. ISSN 0019-5705

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Abstract

The risk of being infected with tubercle bacilli is greatest at the age of 10 to 19 years. If BCG vaccination is given in the preschool or during the first school years, the postvaccination allergy should be maintained at a fairly high level for a period of up to 10 to 15 years. Is it possible that BCG-induced allergy can last that long? In Danish children BCG allergy has been maintained at a high level for 5 years (WHO Tub. Res. Office 1956). The two BCG assessment teams which carried out retests in India in 1954 and 1955 respectively found also BCG induced allergy at a moderate level in children vaccinated 4 years earlier (WHO Tub. Res. Office, 1955 and 1957). At Madanapalle, presence of BCG allergy could be demonstrated after an interval of 4 years (Frimodt-Moller, 1960). Kul Bushan (1960) examined between August 1955 and October 1958 the post-vaccination allergy in school children in 129 different localities throughout India. The interval between vaccination and retests ranged from 1J months to 3J years, the average being 13 months. The mean size of indurations during the first 6 months was 13.0mm., during the second half year 11.5mm., during the third half year 11.2 mm., during the fourth half year 12.8 mm., and after 2-3 J years 12.1 mm. Our experience with BCG vaccination at Madanapalle dates back to 1948 when a high proportion of the town population was tuberculin tested and nearly all tuberculin negative persons vaccinated (Frimodt-Moller, 1949). In 1950 the village population of 37,000 within 10 miles of Madanapalle was submitted to a community-wide survey by tuberculin tests and X-ray. The first place to be surveyed was Vayalpad, a small town of 5,500 inhabitants. During the summer of 1950 all persons reacting with less than 6 mm., to 1 and 10 TU were offered BCG vaccination. In 1961, i.e., 11 years later, a series of tuberculin tests was carried out in the Board High School at Vayalpad. Fifty-five per cent of the school children were found to have been vaccinated earlier, and many of these as far back as 1950. The present report describes the results of these retests.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	Tuberculosis > Operational Research Tuberculosis > Vaccinology
Divisions:	Epidemiology
Depositing User:	Dr. Rathinasabapati R
Date Deposited:	16 Jul 2013 07:30
Last Modified:	08 Mar 2016 04:36
URI:	http://eprints.nirt.res.in/id/eprint/47

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