BCG vaccine (Mycobacterium bovis BCG-1 [Russia]) is the most important component of tuberculosis prophylaxis in Russia. This study represents the complete genome sequence and genetic characteristics of M. bovis BCG-1 (Russia), which has been used to manufacture BCG vaccine in Russia and in some other countries.

BACKGROUND Although the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) has been available for more than 75 years, one third of the world's population is still infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis and approximately 2 million people die of TB every year. To reduce this immense TB burden, a clearer understanding of the functional genes underlying the action of BCG and the dev...

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 immun...

Mycobacterium bovis BCG is the only accepted vaccine for the prevention of tuberculosis (TB) in humans. BCG is a live vaccine, and induction of immunity to TB requires productive infection of the host by BCG. However, BCG is not a satisfactory vaccine, because it fails to protect against pulmonary TB in adults. In this study, we found that BCG strains cannot utilize many naturally occurring ami...

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most important infectious diseases of man and animals, and the only available vaccine (BCG) requires urgent replacement or improvement. To facilitate this, the protective mechanisms induced by BCG require further understanding. As a live attenuated vaccine, persistence of BCG bacilli in the host may be a crucial mechanism. We have investigated the long term ...

UNLABELLED Pathogenic and nonpathogenic species of bacteria and fungi release membrane vesicles (MV), containing proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids, into the extracellular milieu. Previously, we demonstrated that several mycobacterial species, including bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, release MV containing lipids and proteins that subvert host immune response i...

OBJECTIVES To review the protective efficacy of the first and second doses of BCG vaccine and to assess its major indications and contraindications. SOURCES OF DATA A systematic review of the literature was made by searching PubMed and selecting studies carried out in the last 50 years. The studies were grouped according to their design (clinical trials, case-control studies, and meta-analyse...

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is currently the only approved vaccine against tuberculosis (TB) and is administered in over 150 countries worldwide. Despite its widespread use, the vaccine has a variable protective efficacy of 0-80%, with the lowest efficacy rates in tropical regions where TB is most prevalent. This variability is partially due to ubiquitous environmental mycobacteria (EM) found...

The vaccine Bacillus of Calmette Guérin (BCG) was originally developed in France as an oral vaccine against tuberculosis. The oral use of this vaccine was replaced by the parenteral route in almost all countries after the Lubeck disaster. In contrast, Brazil retained the oral delivery of the vaccine until the mid-seventies when it was replaced by the intradermal route. This change in route of d...

Between January 1991 and July 1 993, 1 7 1 ,400 individuals living in Chingleput District, South India, were recruited into a major leprosy vaccine trial organized by the Indian Council for Medical Research. The participants were randomized to receive a placebo, a plain BCG vaccine, a combination of BCG plus killed leprosy bacilli, or else a killed environmental mycobacterial vaccine : either '...