Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Current issue
  • ERJ Early View
  • Past issues
  • For authors
    • Instructions for authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Author FAQs
    • Open access
    • COVID-19 submission information
  • Alerts
  • Podcasts
  • Subscriptions
  • ERS Publications
    • European Respiratory Journal
    • ERJ Open Research
    • European Respiratory Review
    • Breathe
    • ERS Books
    • ERS publications home

User menu

  • Log in
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
  • ERS Publications
    • European Respiratory Journal
    • ERJ Open Research
    • European Respiratory Review
    • Breathe
    • ERS Books
    • ERS publications home

Login

European Respiratory Society

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Current issue
  • ERJ Early View
  • Past issues
  • For authors
    • Instructions for authors
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Author FAQs
    • Open access
    • COVID-19 submission information
  • Alerts
  • Podcasts
  • Subscriptions

Early BCG vaccination is unrelated to pulmonary immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in adults

Christian Herzmann, Giovanni Sotgiu, Tom Schaberg, Martin Ernst, Steffen Stenger, Christoph Lange
European Respiratory Journal 2014 44: 1087-1090; DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00086514
Christian Herzmann
1Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
2Center for Clinical Studies, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Giovanni Sotgiu
3Epidemiology and Medical Statistics Unit, Dept of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Research Medical Education and Professional Development Unit, AOU Sassari, Sassari, Italy
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Tom Schaberg
4Center of Pneumology, Agaplesion Deaconess Hospital Rotenburg, Rotenburg, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Martin Ernst
5Division of Immune-Cell Analytics, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Steffen Stenger
6Institute for Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Hospital of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Christoph Lange
1Division of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Research Center Borstel, Borstel, Germany
7German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), Clinical Tuberculosis Unit, Borstel, Germany
8Dept of Internal Medicine, University of Namibia School of Medicine, Windhoek, Namibia
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: clange@fz-borstel.de
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

To the Editor:

Vaccination with Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG) is performed for the prevention of tuberculosis. M. bovis BCG vaccination is among the most commonly applied of all vaccines worldwide [1]. M. bovis BCG vaccination efficiently reduces the morbidity and mortality of tuberculosis in children, especially miliary tuberculosis and meningitis [2].

Although recent investigations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific immune responses by interferon-γ release assays (IGRAs) provide evidence on the effect of M. bovis BCG vaccination on the prevention of primary infection with M. tuberculosis [3–5], it has been suggested that this effect diminishes during adolescence [2, 6]. Consequently, adults are probably not protected from pulmonary tuberculosis by BCG vaccination.

To date, no study has investigated the impact of M. bovis BCG vaccination performed in childhood on pulmonary immune responses in adults. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of childhood M. bovis BCG vaccination on systemic and pulmonary immune responses to M. tuberculosis in healthy adult individuals exposed to patients with acid-fast bacilli (AFB)-positive sputum smear-positive tuberculosis in Germany.

An observational, cross-sectional, multicentre study was conducted by the German Ministry of Education and Research-funded research consortium on “Pulmonary Tuberculosis – Host and Pathogen Determinants of Resistance and Disease Progression (TB or Not TB)”. Healthcare workers (HCWs) with 1) ongoing professional contact with patients with AFB sputum smear-positive tuberculosis, 2) a cumulative professional exposure of at least 2 years, and 3) no clinical signs and/or symptoms of active tuberculosis were recruited at 18 German pulmonary medicine centres (centres are listed in the Acknowledgements section).

Furthermore, household contacts (HHCs) without evidence of active tuberculosis were enrolled at three urban municipal healthcare centres (i.e. Frankfurt, Hamburg and Hannover); their enrolment required 1) the absence of clinical signs and/or …

View Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top
View this article with LENS
Vol 44 Issue 4 Table of Contents
European Respiratory Journal: 44 (4)
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on European Respiratory Society .

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Early BCG vaccination is unrelated to pulmonary immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in adults
(Your Name) has sent you a message from European Respiratory Society
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the European Respiratory Society web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation Tools
Early BCG vaccination is unrelated to pulmonary immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in adults
Christian Herzmann, Giovanni Sotgiu, Tom Schaberg, Martin Ernst, Steffen Stenger, Christoph Lange
European Respiratory Journal Oct 2014, 44 (4) 1087-1090; DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00086514

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero

Share
Early BCG vaccination is unrelated to pulmonary immunity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in adults
Christian Herzmann, Giovanni Sotgiu, Tom Schaberg, Martin Ernst, Steffen Stenger, Christoph Lange
European Respiratory Journal Oct 2014, 44 (4) 1087-1090; DOI: 10.1183/09031936.00086514
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Technorati logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Connotea logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Full Text (PDF)

Jump To

  • Article
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

More in this TOC Section

  • CTEPH and totally implantable central venous access systems
  • Ivacaftor modifies cystic fibrosis neutrophil phenotype
  • Serum mitochondrial DNA predicts exacerbation and progression of IPF
Show more Agora

Related Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current issue
  • Archive

About the ERJ

  • Journal information
  • Editorial board
  • Reviewers
  • CME
  • Press
  • Permissions and reprints
  • Advertising

The European Respiratory Society

  • Society home
  • myERS
  • Privacy policy
  • Accessibility

ERS publications

  • European Respiratory Journal
  • ERJ Open Research
  • European Respiratory Review
  • Breathe
  • ERS books online
  • ERS Bookshop

Help

  • Feedback

For authors

  • Instructions for authors
  • Submit a manuscript
  • ERS author centre

For readers

  • Alerts
  • Subjects
  • Podcasts
  • RSS

Subscriptions

  • Accessing the ERS publications

Contact us

European Respiratory Society
442 Glossop Road
Sheffield S10 2PX
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 114 2672860
Email: journals@ersnet.org

ISSN

Print ISSN:  0903-1936
Online ISSN: 1399-3003

Copyright © 2021 by the European Respiratory Society