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

Numbers of spot-forming cells in the interferon (IFN)-γ release assay (IGRA) (T-SPOT.TB) with bronchoalveolar lavage mononuclear cells (BALMCs). Mycobacterium bovis bacille Calmette–Guérin (BCG)-vaccinated subjects had a higher frequency of purified protein derivate (PPD)-responsive, IFN-γ-secreting cells in bronchoalveolar lavage compared with unvaccinated subjects. “No antigen” results are gross values. All other results are net values, i.e. the “no antigen” value has been deducted. Long horizontal lines indicate the median, short horizontal lines the interquartile range. The logarithmic scale allows the inclusion of all values into a single figure. CFP-10: 10-kDa culture filtrate protein; ESAT-6: 6-kDa early secretory antigenic target; PHA: phytohaemagglutinin. ^#: p=0.59; ^¶: p=0.94; ⁺: p=0.046.