Abstract

For 60 years vaccination with bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) has been used for the prevention of tuberculosis in health care workers. In1988 the U.S. Advisory Committee on ImmunizationPractices removed the category of health care worker from the list of persons for whom vaccination with BCG should be considered. Nosocomial epidemics of tuberculosis, especially those caused by multidrug-resistant strains, have led to the reconsideration of vaccination with BCG for thispopulation. We review the available studies of the efficacy of BCG vaccine in health care workers. Although the studies had too many methodological flaws to be combined in a quantitative meta-analysis, theysuggest that vaccination with BCGis effective in reducing the incidence of tuberculosis among health care workers.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)136-142
Number of pages7
JournalClinical Infectious Diseases
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1995

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