Context: A 2026 study recently found that the Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine can produce long-lasting changes in innate immune cells, including those linked to the central nervous system. Its principal approved purpose remains protection against tuberculosis.
Explanation
- BCG stands for Bacillus Calmette–Guérin, named after the scientists Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin.
- It is a live attenuated vaccine made from a weakened strain of Mycobacterium bovis, a close relative of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
- First used in humans in 1921, it is one of the oldest vaccines still widely administered.
- It trains the immune system to recognise mycobacteria and act quickly on exposure.
- It works best against severe childhood tuberculosis, including tuberculous meningitis and miliary tuberculosis.
- Protection against adult pulmonary tuberculosis is variable and may decline with time.
- Under the Universal Immunisation Programme, one dose is given intradermally at birth in the left upper arm, with no routine booster.
- BCG is also used as immunotherapy for certain non-muscle-invasive bladder cancers.
- It can produce trained immunity, a broad and non-specific strengthening of innate immune responses, though new uses need larger trials.
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