Received Bacillus Calmette-Guérin Vaccination Research Articles

A-285 Performance Evaluation of LIAISON® QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus Assay and Its Use in Long-Term Care Facilities

Abstract Background Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis with 7860 cases reported in 2021 in the United State and estimated 13 million people are living with Latent TB infection (LTBI); Early detection of TB infection is crucial to prevent the spread of the disease; there are two types of tests for TB and LTBI: Tuberculin Skin Test (TST) and Interferon-Gamma Release Assay (IGRA). Although TST has good sensitivity but false-negative reactions occur in certain population and the specificity of is decreased among persons with prior Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination, especially those vaccinated post-infancy and those with repeat vaccination. Similarly, persons living in areas where nontuberculous mycobacteria are common are at increased risk of having false-positive TST reactions. IGRA is blood-based laboratory test that measures responses to TB-specific peptide antigens in whole blood. Like the tuberculin skin test (TST), it is an indirect test for M. tuberculosis infection, but is more specific than TST and is unaffected by prior BCG vaccination and most environmental mycobacterial infections. Methods The LIAISON® QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus assay is an in vitro diagnostic test for the detection of interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in human lithium heparin plasma by chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) using the LIAISON ® XL Analyzer. The clinical specificity and sensitivity were 96.9% and 84.4% respectively. Clinical studies have shown Positive Percent Agreement (PPA) of 97.4% and Negative Percent Agreement (NPA) of 98.6%. We evaluated the precision, reproducibility, and correlated patient results to our reference lab results. 452 samples collected from Long-Term Care facilities resident were run over 9 months. Statistical analyses were done using Analyse-it. Results The percentage agreement for precision, reproducibility, and accuracy were 100%. The correlation with the reference laboratory was 100% agreement. We found 14.8% of samples tested were positive, 83.2% were negative and 2.0% were indeterminate. Conclusion The LIAISON® QuantiFERON®-TB Gold Plus assay offers the benefit of a fully automated with high sensitivity and specificity. The faster turnaround will aid the physician in the diagnosing M. tuberculosis, eliminates the need for two-step testing, and is preferred in patients who received BCG vaccination. In addition, with the growing geriatric population, the availability of this test will give the physician the opportunity to follow the 2016 American Thoracic Society (ATS)/Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA)/CDC clinical practice guidelines for using IGRAs in older patients.

Incidence of lymphadenitis following Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination in north Indian children

IntroductionBacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination is given as a part of the national immunization schedule in India and its most common complication is BCG lymphadenitis. The reported incidence of BCG lymphadenitis ranges from 0.1 to 9.9% in various studies. In our country, though most babies get BCG vaccination during the neonatal period, the incidence of BCG lymphadenitis is not studied well. AimsTo study the incidence of lymphadenitis following BCG vaccination at tertiary care hospital in North India. MethodsIt was a prospective longitudinal observational study. All newborns weighing ≥1.5 kg at birth without any significant illness who received BCG vaccination at our institute were enrolled and followed up for 16 weeks after vaccination. Babies were examined at 6, 10 and 14 weeks for the development of lymphadenopathy. Meta-analysis of studies evaluating incidence of BCG adenitis in children was also performed. ResultsOut of 817 babies vaccinated during the enrolment period, 605 babies could be followed up till 16.2 ± 0.9 weeks post BCG vaccination. One case of BCG lymphadenitis was detected at 14 weeks. Thus, the observed incidence of BCG lymphadenitis was 0.16% (95% CI of 0.004%–0.92%). Meta-analysis of 21 studies showed mean incidence estimate of 0.336% (95% CI: 0.315%–0.358%) using fixed effect model whereas random effect model showed mean incidence of 4.45% (95% CI: 3.02%–6.15%). ConclusionThe lower incidence of lymphadenitis in our study can probably be attributed to a less immunogenic vaccine (Danish 1331), proper technique, experience of the vaccinator and good storage facilities available at our institute.

Parental Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine scars decrease infant mortality in the first six weeks of life: A retrospective cohort study.

BackgroundLive attenuated vaccines have been observed to have particularly beneficial effects for child survival when given in the presence of maternally transferred immunity (priming). We aimed to test this finding and furthermore explore the role of paternal priming.MethodsIn an exploratory, retrospective cohort study in 2017, parental Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) scars were assessed for infants from the Bandim Health Project (BHP) who had participated in a 2008–2013 trial of neonatal BCG vaccination. Parental scar effects on mortality were estimated from birth to 42 days, the age of the scheduled diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccination, in Cox proportional hazard models adjusted with Inverse Probability of Treatment Weighting.FindingsFor 66% (510/772) of main trial infants that were still registered in the BHP area, at least one parent was located. BCG scar prevalence was 77% (353/461) among mothers and 63% (137/219) among fathers. In the first six weeks of life, maternal scars were associated with a mortality reduction of 60% (95%CI, 4% to 83%) and paternal scars with 49% (-68% to 84%). The maternal scar association was most beneficial among infants that had received BCG vaccination at birth (73% (-1% to 93%)). Although priming was less evident for paternal scars, having two parents with scars reduced mortality by 89% (13% to 99%) compared with either one or none of the parents having a scar.InterpretationParental BCG scars were associated with strongly increased early-life survival. These findings underline the importance of future studies into the subject of inherited non-specific immunity and parental priming.FundingDanish National Research Foundation; European Research Council; Novo Nordisk Foundation; University of Southern Denmark.

BCG vaccine–related complications in patients with primary immunodeficiencies after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) vaccine is widely used for the vaccination of newborns within the first few days of life to prevent mycobacterial infections. However, complications occurring after BCG vaccination in patients with primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) can lead to serious consequences for their health and life. BCG vaccine-related complications occurring in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) constitute an important problem. The article presents a retrospective observational analysis of 45 patients with SCID and CGD who received BCG vaccination and underwent HSCT. In the post-transplant period, 33 (73.3%) patients had BCG-related complications, either localized or generalized. The presence of BCG vaccine-related complications in the pre-transplant period was a significant predictor of the development of post-transplant complications. The most severe and long-term BCG vaccine-related complications were observed in the patients with SCID: the median time to the resolution of symptoms of BCG infection was 30 days and 100 days in the CGD patients and the SCID patients, respectively (p< 0.001). The severity of BCG vaccine-related complications, the nature of the primary disease and the presence of pre-transplant BCG vaccine-related complications did not affect the overall survival (OS) of the patients: OS for the entire study group was 79.5 ± 6.6%. Non-compliance with antimycobacterial prophylaxis prior to HSCT resulted in severe infections in a number of patients. The treatment of BCG vaccine-related complications included a combination of several antimycobacterial agents, and anti-inflammatory drugs (such as glucocorticoids, interleukin-1 and 6 receptor antagonists) in cases of immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (n= 18). The only effective method of prophylaxis of BCG-related infections in patients with SCID and CGD in the pre- and post-transplant period is the exemption of newborns from BCG vaccination based on their family history. Uninterrupted antimycobacterial prophylaxis in vaccinated patients in the pre- and post-transplant period is also important. Furthermore, an effective uniform strategy for the prevention and treatment of BCG vaccine-related complications in PID patients both before and after HSCT is needed.

BCG Vaccine in Relation To COVID-19 Morbidity and Mortality

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS CoV-2) significantly interrupts daily life activities leading to global social and economic disruption. The infected cases and deaths due to COVID-19 are continuously rising. The lower incidence of COVID-19-cases among countries with Bacillus-Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination background raises the possibility that BCG vaccine could be a protective against COVID-19. Here, we studied the prevalence of COVID-19-cases in relation to population received BCG vaccination. The collected data were compared at two different time points for proper validation and execution of appropriate association. Our investigations showed a correlative association between BCG vaccination and the number of COVID-19-cases. The association obtained can be supported by the fact that BCG vaccination is associated with an increase in trained immunity. This condition has been used previously to establish a protective effect by BCG vaccine against infections due to pathogens other than Tuberculosis (TB). The data obtained from this study could encourage the ongoing clinical studies regarding the use of BCG vaccine against COVID-19.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Infections at High Frequency in Both AR-CGD and X-CGD Patients Following BCG Vaccination.

Patients with chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) develop severe infections, including Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG). Although the autosomal recessive CGD (AR-CGD) patients should hypothetically develop relatively fewer infections compared to the X-linked CGD (X-CGD) patients due to more residual reactive oxygen intermediates, the impacts of BCG vaccination on AR-CGD and X-CGD patients are unclear. Herein, we demonstrated the clinical features of BCG infections, treatments, and genetic factors in CGD patients after BCG vaccination under the Japanese immunization program. We collected data retrospectively from 43 patients with CGD and assessed their history of initial infection, age at diagnosis of CGD, BCG vaccination history, clinical course, treatment for BCG infections, and genetic mutations associated with CGD. Fourteen CGD patients avoided BCG vaccination because of other preceding infections and family history. Of 29 patients with CGD who received BCG vaccination, 20 patients developed BCG infections. Although the age at onset of initial infection in X-CGD patients was significantly younger than that in AR-CGD patients (P < .01), the onset and frequency of BCG infections were similar in X-CGD and AR-CGD patients. In X-CGD patients, BCG infections equally developed in the patients carrying missense, insertion, deletion, nonsense, and splice mutations of CYBB. All CGD patients with BCG infections were successfully treated with anti-tuberculous drugs. Although X-CGD patients develop severe infections at a younger age than AR-CGD patients, our data suggested that BCG infections develop at high frequency in both AR-CGD and X-CGD patients, regardless of genotype and mutant forms.

Clinical Characteristics and Genetic Profiles of 44 Patients with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID): Report from Shanghai, China (2004–2011)

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a rare type of genetic associated immune disorder, is poorly characterized in mainland China. We retrospectively reviewed 44 patients with SCID who received treatment from 2004 to 2011 in Shanghai, China, and herein summarize their clinical manifestations and immunological and preliminary genetic features. The male-to-female ratio was 10:1. Twenty five patients presented with X-SCID symptoms. Only one patient was diagnosed before the onset of symptoms due to positive family history. The mean time of delay in the diagnosis of X-SCID was 2.69 months (range, 0.5-8.67). Thirty-seven of the 44 patients died by the end of 2011 with the mean age of death being 7.87 months (range, 1.33-31). Six patients received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); only one of them survived, who was transplanted twice. The time between onset and death was shorter in the HSCT-treated group compared with the untreated group (2.87 ± 1.28 and 3.34 ± 0.59 months, respectively), probably due to active infections during transplantation. Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) complications occurred in 14 of the 34 patients who received BCG vaccination. Transfusion-induced graft-versus-host disease occurred in 5 patients. Total 20 mutations in interleukin-2 receptor subunit gamma (IL2RG) were identified in 22 patients, including 11 novel mutations. Most patients were misdiagnosed before referred to our SCID Center. Therefore, establishing more diagnostic centers dedicated to the care of PID and accessible by primary immunodeficiency patients will facilitate early, correct diagnosis and better care of SCID in China.

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination and infant mortality

When the bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine was introduced in the 1920s, it was suggested that BCG occasionally had nonspecific beneficial effects on mortality beyond the specific protection against tuberculosis. Considering that BCG has since then become the most used vaccine in the world, surprisingly few studies have been undertaken into the effect of BCG on general mortality and morbidity. Recent studies suggest that BCG has beneficial nontargeted effects on general infant morbidity and mortality in low-income countries, often with the most pronounced effect among girls. These observational findings are supported by early trials in which children were randomized or alternated to BCG vaccination. Furthermore, a BCG scar and a positive tuberculin reaction are related to better survival among BCG-vaccinated children in low-income countries, especially for girls. The findings are not explained by frailty bias, in other words, that healthy children are more likely to receive BCG vaccination. A nonspecific, gender-differential effect of BCG on general infant mortality may have large implications for tuberculosis vaccine research and routine vaccination policy.