Abstract
A tuberculin survey was conducted among 45988 children with BCG scar and 54227 children without BCG scar between 1–9 years of age and residing in selected rural areas of three defined zones of India. About 45–60% of the BCG-vaccinated children elicited reactions <5 mm in size and about 70–80% had reactions <10 mm. Therefore, in the majority of children (showing tuberculin reaction of <10 mm), BCG-induced tuberculin sensitivity does not interfere with interpretation of tuberculin test. The study also revealed that a proportion of reactions among BCG vaccinated children in 5–9 mm, 10–14 mm and 15–19 mm range may be attributable to BCG vaccination. Therefore, reactions between 10–14 mm and especially 15–19 mm among the vaccinated children must be interpreted carefully. However, 19 mm was observed as the upper limit for BCG induced tuberculin sensitivity and all reactions > 20 mm in size may be considered to be due to infection with tubercle bacilli, irrespective of the BCG vaccination status.
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Chadha, V.K., Jaganath, P.S. & Kumar, P. Tuberculin sensitivity among children vaccinated with BCG under universal immunization programme. Indian J Pediatr 71, 1063–1068 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02829815
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02829815