Article Text
Editorial commentary
BCG vaccination and severity of childhood tuberculous meningitis
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BCG vaccination may lessen the severity of, rather than completely prevent, serious forms of tuberculosis
In this issue of the journal (see pages 1550–4), Kumar et al report on the efficacy of bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) vaccination in favourably altering the course and outcome of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) in children. The value of BCG vaccination for preventing tuberculosis has been debated since its introduction nearly eight decades ago. Several trials, cohort studies, and case control studies have failed to provide a definitive answer to this contentious issue. A recent meta-analysis revealed that the protective effect of BCG vaccination in infants was only around …