Tuberc Respir Dis.  2012 Apr;72(4):374-380.

The Current Status of BCG Vaccination in Young Children in South Korea

• Lee H
• Dockrell H
• Kim DR
• Floyd S
• Oh SY
• Lee JB
• Kim HJ

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Delivery of Bacille Calmette-Gurein (BCG) Tokyo vaccine, with the multipuncture device, has been much preferred over BCG Pasteur, with the intradermal method, possibly due to the easier manner of administration, a desire to avoid any trouble with scars, as well as side effects and higher profits to providers in South Korea.
METHODS
To determine BCG scar status in 0~6 year old children vaccinated with two BCG vaccines (Pasteur BCG vaccine with intradermal method and BCG Tokyo vaccine with percutaneous method), the data from the national BCG scar survey in 2006 was analyzed.
RESULTS
Based on the national survey, the high proportion that were vaccinated with BCG Tokyo vaccines with the multipuncture method (64.5%) was noted in 0~6 year old Korean children. From inspection of scar formation, as an indicator of vaccination, the median number of the visible pin scars from the percutaneous method was 16 (interquartile range, 12~18) in the Korean children, and pin scars decreased as the age of the children increased (p<0.001).
CONCLUSION
The findings in this survey clearly showed a growing preference of parents for the BCG Tokyo vaccines by the multipuncture method in South Korea.

Keyword

BCG Vaccine; Tuberculosis; Vaccination

MeSH Terms

BCG Vaccine
Child
Cicatrix
Humans
Mycobacterium bovis
Parents
Republic of Korea
Tokyo
Tuberculosis
Vaccination
Vaccines
BCG Vaccine
Vaccines

Figure

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  Figure 1 Distribution of scar size (mm) among BCG Pasteur recipients by age. The figure excludes data from children with no scar. The different lines indicate each age group from 0 year to 6 years old. BCG: Bacille Calmette-Guréin.

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