The tuberculosis (TB) vaccine Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) could protect newborns against a variety of common infections, such as upper respiratory tract infections, chest infections, and diarrhoea, according to a new study from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
It has been known that BCG protects against diseases other than TB, offering protection against non-tuberculous mycobacteria infection like leprosy and Buruli ulcer. It is also used in the treatment of superficial carcinoma of the bladder.
However, this is the first research to rigorously investigate the full range. The results suggest that vaccinating all babies with BCG on their day of birth could save lives by reducing neonatal infections in areas with high rates of infectious disease.
The study involved a randomised control trial of 560 newborns in Uganda, who were monitored for a range of illnesses. After six weeks, infection rates from any disease were 25% lower in the group that received the vaccine at birth, compared to the group that had not yet received the vaccination. The most protected appeared to be vulnerable groups such as low birth weight babies, and boys. Importantly, BCG appeared to protect against even severe infections.
Sarah Prentice, the lead author from LSHTM, said: “Nearly a million babies die every year of common infections so we urgently need better ways to protect them. Our research suggests that ensuring that BCG is given at birth could make a big difference in low-income countries, potentially saving many lives.”
The newborns were randomly assigned to receive BCG either at birth or at six weeks of age. They were followed-up by doctors, blinded to the intervention, for 10 weeks, who looked for any type of illness or infection.
The research team then compared how often infants in the two groups presented to doctors with infections of any kind, except TB, to see whether having BCG made a difference. They also took blood samples from both groups, to look at differences in their innate immune system, the body’s first line of defense against infections.
Infants vaccinated with BCG at birth presented to doctors with any kind of infection 25% less often than infants who had not. BCG seemed to protect against all kinds of infections, such as common colds, chest infections, and skin infections.
After the delayed group had been vaccinated, the rates of infection were identical between the two groups: the delayed group’s immunity ‘brought up to speed’ when they received BCG.
Study co-author Prof Hazel Dockrell, LSHTM, said: “It’s very exciting to think that BCG vaccination might help keep newborns safe against other dangerous infections, in addition to providing protection against TB. Although BCG is recommended at birth in many countries, it is often delayed due to logistical difficulties. Ensuring that the vaccine is given on day one, in areas with high rates of infectious disease, could have a major impact on infections and deaths in the newborn period.”
Though the study could not definitely determine whether the BCG vaccine was responsible for the lowered rate of infections, there is nonetheless great interest in applying the vaccine as a protection for novel disease outbreaks, such as COVID or Ebola, before a specific vaccine can be developed.
Dr Prentice said, “Since the findings show that BCG seems to offer wider protection against a range of infections, our study also raises hopes it might be useful in protecting the general population against COVID-19 and future pandemics – though we will need to see the results of other, more specific studies to know for sure.”
Source: News-Medical.Net
Journal information: Prentice, S., et al. (2021) BCG-induced non-specific effects on heterologous infectious disease in Ugandan neonates: an investigator-blind randomised controlled trial. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30653-8.
