Table 1– Bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccination in the World Health Organization European Region
CountryGeneral BCG at birth#RevaccinationSelective vaccination
High priority
 ArmeniaBirth
 Azerbaijan4–7 days
 Belarus3–5 daysAt 7 years (in children from a TB contact, in social risk groups, without a visible BCG scar, and handicapped children without specific contraindications for live vaccines)
 BulgariaBirth7 months; 7, 11, 17 years (after Mantoux test negative)
 Estonia1–5 days
 Georgia0–5 days
 KazakhstanBirth6 years (after Mantoux test negative)
 KyrgyzstanBirth
 Latvia2–5 days
 Lithuania3 days
 Moldova2 days6–7 years (after Mantoux test negative)
 RomaniaBirth
 Russia3 days7 (after Mantoux test negative), 14 years
 Tajikistan3–5 days
 Turkey2 months
 Turkmenistan3 days14 years (after Mantoux test negative)
 Ukraine3–5 days7 years (after Mantoux test negative during periods of TB epidemics)
 Uzbekistan3–5 days
Low priority
 AlbaniaBirth
 AndorraNo
 AustriaNoChildren, travellers and HCWs at high and prolonged risk
 BelgiumNoChildren and HCWs in prolonged exposure at high risk
 Bosnia and  HerzegovinaBirth
 CroatiaBirth
 CyprusNoChildren with continuous contact with a contagious form of TB
 Czech RepublicNoChildren 6 months or older with TB in the family, contact with TB, origin or stay >3 months of the child or parents in a country with TB incidence >40 per 100 000 or parental request
 DenmarkNoYoung children travelling for long periods of time to endemic areas, or living in Denmark in families with TB, or HCWs caring for at-risk patients, and sometimes given to travellers to USA due to USA regulations
 FinlandNoTB in the family, parents originate from a country with high incidence, or moving to such a country
 FranceNoGiven at birth in infants at risk (born in a country with a high prevalence of TB or with at least one parent born in such a country, or planning to stay at ≥1 month in such a country, or with a history of TB in his/her family, or living in the Ile-de-France, French Guyana or Mayotte region, or any child considered by a physician as living in an environment with a high risk of exposure to TB) and professionals and students involved in healthcare, revaccination at entry if TST negative
 GermanyNo
 GreeceNo
 GreenlandBirth
 HungaryBirth
 IcelandNo
 IrelandBirth
 IsraelNoNewborns (BCG given at birth) and children with high risk, e.g. babies from families that immigrated from endemic countries
 ItalyNoHCWs at high risk
 Kosovo+
 LuxembourgNo
 MaltaNo
 MonacoBirth
 MontenegroBirth
 The NetherlandsNoChildren with one or two parents originating from high-incidence countries (BCG given at 5 months); long-term travellers and expatriates to high-incidence countries
 NorwayNoNewborns with parents from high-prevalence countries and health/birth professional students
 PolandBirth
 PortugalBirth
 San Marino+
 SerbiaBirth
 SlovakiaNo
 SloveniaBirthHCWs, medical students, military (BCG given at start of work/study)
 SpainNoNewborns in Basque country (BCG given at birth), and children in close and long-term contact with smear-positive adults; foreign-born children (<5 years) returning to their country (high burden) for >3 months; children (<5 years) whose parents are working in high-burden countries and have to stay with them for >3 months
 SwedenNoChildren born to parents from countries with a TB incidence >25 per 100 000 at the age of 6 months
 SwitzerlandNoChildren at high risk of exposure (BCG given at birth)
 MacedoniaBirth7 years
 UKNoHigh risk areas (BCG given at birth)
  • Countries listed in alphabetical order and according to tuberculosis (TB) priority [2325]. High-priority countries are those defined in [5]. HCW: healthcare worker; TST: tuberculin skin test. #: entire country. : general BCG vaccination performed after birth, at the age of: Finland, >7 years; Greece, 6 years; Malta, 12 years. +: no information.