Trial of BCG vaccines in South India for tuberculosis prevention

Tuberculosis Prevention Trial (Indian Council of Medical Research in collaboration with WHO)

1979

Madras, India

BCG vaccines and placebo were allocated randomly to 260,000 individuals. This report presents findings of the 7 1/2 year follow up. Incidence of infection was high in the study population. It was more frequent among initial tuberculin reactors, especially among the older persons, than among non reactors of whom the majority were among the younger age group. The distribution of new cases of tuberculosis among those non infected at intake did not show any evidence of a protective effect of the BCG vaccines. (Slightly more tuberculosis cases have appeared in vaccinated than in equal sized placebo control group). See Lancet (entry 0123).

This is one of the rare prospective randomised control studies of vaccination with long term follow up. We find useful to include it in the data bank because many subjects were still in their primal period. See also entry 0199