Vaccination

For HIV-negative people there is a live vaccine against tuberculosis known as the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, although its effectiveness appears to vary in different populations. It should not be given to people with HIV, in whom it may cause a disease similar to tuberculosis. The widespread use of BCG in the United Kingdom, but not the United States, means that very few people become infected during childhood in the UK.

A tuberculosis vaccine that uses inactivated bacteria, M.vaccae, reduced the risk of TB in people living with HIV with CD4 counts between 200 and 500 by 37% during three years of follow-up in a randomised trial in Tanzania.1 2

References

  1. Vuola JM et al. Immunogenicity of an inactivated mycobacterial vaccine for the prevention of HIV-associated tuberculosis: a randomized controlled trial. AIDS 17: 2351-2355, 2003
  2. Von Reyn CF et al. The DarDar prime-boost TB vaccine trial in HIV infection: final results. International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 12 (11): supplement 2, 2008
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