Vaccines & Vaccination

Tuberculosis Vaccines

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BCG, or bacille Calmette-Guerin (Tuberculosis Vaccines), is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease. Many foreign-born persons have been BCG-vaccinated. BCG is used in many countries with a high prevalence of TB to prevent childhood tuberculous meningitis and miliary disease. However, Tuberculosis Vaccine is not generally recommended for use in the United States because of the low risk of infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the variable effectiveness of the vaccine against adult pulmonary TB, and the vaccine’s potential interference with tuberculin skin test reactivity. The Tuberculosis Vaccine should be considered only for very select persons who meet specific criteria and in consultation with a TB expert.