02704nas a2200397   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653001500051653001600066653001000082653002100092653001100113653002200124653001100146653001100157653002000168653001200188653000900200653001200209653003000221100001700251700001600268700001300284700001300297700002500310700001400335700001700349700001100366700001400377245010800391856008300499300001100582490000700593520169200600022001402292       1970                            d  c197010aAdolescent10aBCG Vaccine10aChild10aChild, Preschool10aFemale10aFollow-Up Studies10aHumans10aInfant10aInfant, Newborn10aleprosy10aMale10aMyanmar10aWorld Health Organization1 aBechelli L M1 aGarbajosa G1 aUemura K1 aEngler V1 aMartinez Dominguez V1 aParedes L1 aSundaresan T1 aKoch G1 aMatejka M00aBCG vaccination of children against leprosy. Preliminary findings of the WHO-controlled trial in Burma.  uhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2427452/pdf/bullwho00213-0054.pdf  a235-810 v423 a<p>The use of BCG vaccine in the prevention of leprosy has been one of the most important subjects of investigation in the field of leprology in the last 25 years. The action of the vaccine was for many years investigated by determining its effect on the lepromin reaction. Field studies were later considered essential to determine whether BCG vaccination would be useful to leprosy contacts, to the child population probably exposed to infection, or to persons persistently lepromin-negative.The interest of the World Health Organization in this matter began in 1952 and, following the recommendations of certain advisory committees, it was decided to institute a field trial in Singu township in Burma. The main purpose of the investigation was to observe, in a highly endemic area, the protective effect, if any, of BCG vaccine against leprosy in the child population not exposed to Mycobacterium leprae at home but possibly exposed to the infection elsewhere.Field operations began at the end of August 1964 and the preliminary findings obtained up to the end of June 1968 relate to 3 annual re-examinations. So far, from the material studied, it appears that, under the conditions prevailing in Singu township, no significant effect of BCG vaccine can be seen within a period of 3 years. When children in both trial groups are followed-up for much longer periods, mainly children aged 0-4 years at intake, it is possible that a significant difference may emerge. However, to be operationally desirable, a merely significant difference is not enough; the protective effect of BCG should be substantial to warrant its large-scale use as an immunization procedure against leprosy.</p>  a0042-9686