From the Department of Infectious Diseases, School of Medicine, Urumieh University of Medical Sciences, Urumieh, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract: (4115 Views)
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy ofthe BCG vaccine in
the fIrst 60 days of life in inducing delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH), and to
evaluate the reliability of the Mantoux test in comparison with the BCG test for
detecting DTH.
A study was done in 885 healthy, well nourished infants 5 to 7 months old
from rural areas of the Urumieh province, who received BCG immunization in the
first 60 days of life. The subjects were evaluated in two random groups the fIrst
group underwent the BCG test and for the second group a Mantoux test was
performed (with 5TU).
A total of 84.2% of infants had BCG vaccine scars. Cases who had received
the BCG test had a positive reaction in more than 90% and those who had scars
showed increased positivity. In the second group, 63% had a negative PPD
reaction (0-4 mm induration), 23.8% were weakly positive (i.e., 5-9 mm induration),
and only in 13.2% was a positive reaction (10 mm or more induration) found. So
in spite of successful induction ofDTH by BCG vaccination at birth, the tuberculin
test is not a reliable method for detecting hypersensitivity.