The effect of bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination at birth on immune response in China

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine is still the most effective approach to prevent tuberculosis in childhood. In order to provide protection against severe forms of childhood tuberculosis, it is customary to give BCG vaccination at birth in China. Tuberculin skin testing after vaccination is usually used to evaluate the immunogenic activity and protective efficacy of the BCG. We report the results of a multi-site prospective cohort study to evaluate the immunological reactivity against BCG in four prefectural cities in China. A total of 59,022 newborn infants were vaccinated between January 2011 and March 2012, and follow-up data on 27,517 vaccinated infants were available for this study. Of these, 679 (2.5%) had PPD readings of 0-5 mm, 17,072 (62.0%) had PPD readings of 5-10 mm of induration, 8864 (32.2%) had readings of 10-15 mm, 815 (3.0%) had readings of 15-20 mm, and 87 (0.3%) had readings of >20 mm of induration. The size of PPD reaction varied significantly with the geographic location, gender, season of vaccination, and grade of hospital administering the BCG vaccine (P < 0.001). 97.8% of the infants with a BCG scar of >1 mm had a positive TST reaction. However, only 56.9% of infants without a BCG scar had a positive PPD reaction. Our results demonstrate that the BCG immunization among newborn infants in China induces satisfactory immune response. In addition, BCG scars provide a useful indicator of vaccination response in Chinese infants.