BCG vaccine

من طرف sara mohamed ali الأحد نوفمبر 08, 2009 6:34 pm

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (or Bacilli Calmette-Guérin, BCG) is a vaccine against tuberculosis that is prepared from a strain of the attenuated (weakened) live bovine tuberculosis bacilli

What is it used for?

Prevention
Use with caution in
- Eczema (skin at injection site should be free from eczema)

Not to be used in

Fever (pyrexia)
Generalized infected skin conditions
People who have had tuberculosis
People with positive skin reaction to tuberculin (Mantoux test)
Newborn children in a household where an active TB case is suspected or confirmed
HIV infection
Infants born to HIV positive mothers
Malignant conditions such as leukemia and lymphoma
People who are or who have recently received treatment that suppresses the activity of the immune system, e.g. long-term oral corticosteroids, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, medicines to prevent transplant rejection
People who are receiving preventative anti-tuberculous medicines
People with decreased defenses against disease or infection (impaired immune response) due ton of tuberculosis

Side effects

Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.

Headache
Fever (pyrexia)
Hardening of skin at injection site, followed by a lesion that may ulcerate and heal over some months, leaving a small flat scar
Swelling of the lymph nodes near the injection site
Occasionally, an excessive response to the vaccine resulting in a discharging ulcer

The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer. For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your