Skip to main content
PMC home page
Bulletin of the World Health Organization logoLink to Bulletin of the World Health Organization
. 1970;42(2):235–281.

BCG vaccination of children against leprosy

Preliminary findings of the WHO-controlled trial in Burma

L M Bechelli, Gallego Garbajosa, K Uemura, V Engler, V Martínez Domínguez, L Paredes, T Sundaresan, G Koch, M Matejka
PMCID: PMC2427452  PMID: 4246110

Abstract

The use of BCG vaccine in the prevention of leprosy has been one of the most important subjects of investigation in the field of leprology in the last 25 years. The action of the vaccine was for many years investigated by determining its effect on the lepromin reaction. Field studies were later considered essential to determine whether BCG vaccination would be useful to leprosy contacts, to the child population probably exposed to infection, or to persons persistently lepromin-negative.

The interest of the World Health Organization in this matter began in 1952 and, following the recommendations of certain advisory committees, it was decided to institute a field trial in Singu township in Burma. The main purpose of the investigation was to observe, in a highly endemic area, the protective effect, if any, of BCG vaccine against leprosy in the child population not exposed to Mycobacterium leprae at home but possibly exposed to the infection elsewhere.

Field operations began at the end of August 1964 and the preliminary findings obtained up to the end of June 1968 relate to 3 annual re-examinations. So far, from the material studied, it appears that, under the conditions prevailing in Singu township, no significant effect of BCG vaccine can be seen within a period of 3 years. When children in both trial groups are followed-up for much longer periods, mainly children aged 0-4 years at intake, it is possible that a significant difference may emerge. However, to be operationally desirable, a merely significant difference is not enough; the protective effect of BCG should be substantial to warrant its large-scale use as an immunization procedure against leprosy.

Full text

PDF
279

Selected References

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

  1. BECHELLI L. M., DE SOUZA P. R., QUAGLIATO R. Correlaço entre os resultados da leitura clínica e do exame histopathológico da reaço de Mitsuda. Rev Bras Leprol. 1957 Jan-Mar;25(1):21–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BECHELLI L. M., QUAGLIATO R. Dados epidemiológicos iniciais sôbre a possivel aço premunitória do BCG, via oral, em comunicantes de doentes de lepra. Rev Bras Leprol. 1956 Jan-Jun;24(1-2):23–36. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. BECHELLI L. M. Reciprocidade do comportamento da infecço leprótica em face da tuberculose e vice-versa, do ponto de vista sorológico, imuno alérgico, clínico e epidemiológico. Rev Bras Leprol. 1957 Oct-Dec;25(4):267–295. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. BROWN J. A., STONE M. M. A TRIAL OF BCG VACCINATION IN THE PROPHYLAXIS OF LEPROSY. Lepr Rev. 1963 Jul;34:118–122. doi: 10.5935/0305-7518.19630019. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bechelli L. M., Martinez Dominguez V., Patwary K. M. WHO epidemiologic random sample surveys of leprosy in northern Nigeria (Katsina), Cameroon and Thailand (Khon Kaen). Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1966 Jul-Sep;34(3):223–243. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Beiguelman B., Souza-Campos N., Pinto W., Jr Fatóres genéticos e efeito da calmetizaço na reaço de Mitsuda. Rev Paul Med. 1967 Dec;71(6):271–278. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Brown J. A., Stone M. M. B.C.G. vaccination of children against leprosy: first results of a trial in Uganda. Br Med J. 1966 Jan 1;1(5478):7–14. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5478.7. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Brown J. A., Stone M. M., Sutherland I. B.C.G. vaccination of children against leprosy in Uganda: results at end of second follow-up. Br Med J. 1968 Jan 6;1(5583):24–27. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5583.24. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Brown J. A., Stone M. M., Sutherland I. Trial of BCG vaccination against leprosy in Uganda. Lepr Rev. 1969 Jan;40(1):3–7. doi: 10.5935/0305-7518.19690003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. CAMPOS N. S. Resultados colhidos pela vacinaço com BCG e meios de sua avaliaço. Rev Bras Leprol. 1957 Oct-Dec;25(4):349–367. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. CONVIT J. Studies of leprosy in the German ethnic group of Colonia Tovar, Venezuela. V. The morbidity rates in BCG-vaccinated and unvaccinated groups during five years. Int J Lepr. 1956 Jul-Sep;24(3):269–274. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. DOULL J. A., GUINTO R. S., MABALAY M. C. Effect of BCG vaccination, lepromin testing and natural causes in inducing reactivity to lepromin and to tuberculin. Int J Lepr. 1957 Jan-Mar;25(1):13–37. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. GUINTO R. S., RODRIGUEZ J. N., DOULL J. A., DE GULA L. The trend of liprosy in Cordova and Talisay, Cebu Province, Philipines. Int J Lepr. 1954 Oct-Dec;22(4):409–430. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. GUINTO R. S., RODRIGUEZ J. N., DOULL J. A., DE GULA L. The trend of liprosy in Cordova and Talisay, Cebu Province, Philipines. Int J Lepr. 1954 Oct-Dec;22(4):409–430. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Guld J., Waaler H., Sundaresan T. K., Kaufmann P. C., ten Dam H. G. The duration of BCG-induced tuberculin sensitivity in children, and its irrelevance for revaccination. Results of two 5-year prospective studies. Bull World Health Organ. 1968;39(5):829–836. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Hart P. D. Efficacy and applicability of mass B. C.G. vaccination in tuberculosis control. Br Med J. 1967 Mar 11;1(5540):587–592. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5540.587. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. LANGUILLON J., PERIER H. LA L'EPROMINO-R'EACTION DES SUJETS CONTACTS EN AFRIQUE OCCIDENTALE. Bull Soc Pathol Exot Filiales. 1963 May-Jun;56:337–345. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Palmer C. E., Edwards L. B. Identifying the tuberculous infected. The dual-test technique. JAMA. 1968 Jul 15;205(3):167–169. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Perier H. La lépromino-réaction de la population de 5 villages en région de savane et de forêt au Congo Brazzaville. Bull Soc Pathol Exot Filiales. 1965 Nov-Dec;58(6):969–982. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. ROTBERG A. Fator N de resistência á lepra e relaçes com a reatividade lepromínica e tuberculínica; valor duvidoso do BCG na imunizaço antileprosa. Rev Bras Leprol. 1957 Apr-Jun;25(2):85–106. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. RUSSELL D. A., SCOTT G. C., WIGLEY S. C. BCG VACCINATION IN LEPROSY. A PRELIMINARY REPORT OF A "BLIND" CONTROLLED TRIAL. Int J Lepr. 1964 Jul-Sep;32:235–245. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Scott G. C., Wigley S. G., Russell D. A. The Karimui trial of BCG. 2. Tuberculin reactions in a leprosy-endemic but tuberculosis-free population. Int J Lepr Other Mycobact Dis. 1966 Apr-Jun;34(2):139–146. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Tolderlund K., Bunch-Christensen K., Guld J. Duration of allergy and immunity in BCG-vaccinated guinea pigs. A five-year study. Bull World Health Organ. 1967;36(5):759–769. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. WARDEKAR R. V. Preliminary report on the data of the control units of the Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation. Int J Lepr. 1956 Jan-Mar;24(1):13–28. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Bulletin of the World Health Organization are provided here courtesy of World Health Organization

RESOURCES