HIV testing crucial in TB vaccine programme
New research showing that the tuberculosis vaccine Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG) can be deadly to HIV-positive infants means Kenya's health ministry will have to redouble its efforts to test pregnant mothers and their infants for HIV, senior health officials say.
About 80 percent of children born in Kenya's health facilities receive BCG vaccines. (Image: Ann Weru/IRIN)
The South African study found that HIV-positive babies who receive the BCG vaccine were three times more likely to contract TB from the vaccine than previously thought. The authors recommended delaying vaccination until an infant's HIV status is known.
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