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. 1990;68(1):93–108.

Quality control of BCG vaccine by WHO: a review of factors that may influence vaccine effectiveness and safety.

J B Milstien 1, J J Gibson 1
PMCID: PMC2393003  PMID: 2189588

Abstract

WHO oversees the quality control of BCG vaccine via a system that includes regular testing of products by in vitro methods and clinical trials. Three parent strains of BCG (Glaxo-1077, Tokyo-172, and Pasteur-1173P2) account for over 90% of the vaccines currently in use worldwide. Important characteristics of the vaccine preparations are summarized here, along with their physical-chemical properties. In instances where diagnostic criteria for tuberculosis are stringent, there is no evidence that when administered to newborns different preparations of BCG vaccine exhibit different efficacies; however, the incidence of BCG-associated adverse reactions does correlate with the type of preparation. Other factors, including dose, administration technique, and recipient characteristics are also important in determining vaccine-associated reactions.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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