WHO Europe: Recommendation to Resume BCG vaccination programme against tuberculosis in Romania
30 November 2012
Extract
“A joint mission of WHO/Europe and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to Romania has recommended immediate resumption of bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination against tuberculosis (TB) in the country.
“The Ministry of Health temporarily suspended BCG vaccination on 22 November as a precautionary measure, following increased reports of enlarged lymph nodes in children after administration of the vaccine produced by the State Serum Institute (SSI) of Denmark.
“The BCG vaccination programme will resume with additional elements, taking account of the mission’s findings. These include:
– strengthening the risk management plan, including guidelines for vaccine administration, follow-up and treatment of adverse events;
– reinforcing close monitoring of adverse events to detect them early and enable rapid and appropriate action; and
– developing a communication plan for health care workers and the public.
In the last decade, BCG vaccination has halved the number of TB cases in children under 14 years in Romania. For every million children aged under 5 years with BCG vaccination, over 350 severe TB cases are avoided…
vaccines and global health :: ethics and policy 