Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To update the understanding of the effectiveness of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in preventing tuberculosis (TB) infection in children. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase were searched from their inception to January 12, 2025. Studies were included if the...

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Main Authors: Shunli Cai, Qingyi Luo, Guozhong Zhou, Xin Guo, Yan Dong, Hongbo Chen, Shiqi Luo, Jian He, Yuan Xia, Hanse Li, Yingchen Zhou, Chao Song
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:International Journal of Infectious Diseases
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971225001328
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author Shunli Cai
Qingyi Luo
Guozhong Zhou
Xin Guo
Yan Dong
Hongbo Chen
Shiqi Luo
Jian He
Yuan Xia
Hanse Li
Yingchen Zhou
Chao Song
author_facet Shunli Cai
Qingyi Luo
Guozhong Zhou
Xin Guo
Yan Dong
Hongbo Chen
Shiqi Luo
Jian He
Yuan Xia
Hanse Li
Yingchen Zhou
Chao Song
author_sort Shunli Cai
collection DOAJ
description Objectives: To update the understanding of the effectiveness of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in preventing tuberculosis (TB) infection in children. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase were searched from their inception to January 12, 2025. Studies were included if they focused on children under 19 years exposed to pulmonary TB, used interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) for infection assessment, and reported IGRA-positive outcomes for both BCG and non-BCG groups. Pooled estimates were derived using random-effects meta-analysis, with heterogeneity assessed by the I² statistic. Results: Total 8242 participants were enrolled in 32 studies. The overall protective effectiveness of BCG against infection was 18%, with a relative risk [RR] of 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73-0.91], I² = 60%). Subgroup analysis revealed a higher effectiveness of 29% (RR = 0.71 [95% CI: 0.62-0.82], I² = 41%) in low-TB incidence areas, while effectiveness was not significant (RR = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.84-1.09], I² = 55%) in high-TB incidence areas. Conclusions: BCG vaccination shows protective effectiveness against TB infection, particularly in low-TB incidence areas. Its effectiveness in high-TB incidence areas remains uncertain, underscoring the need for further research to optimize vaccination strategies in these settings.
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spelling doaj-art-7698d3688cd64a2f88d5b3ec439d7aa92025-08-20T03:46:41ZengElsevierInternational Journal of Infectious Diseases1201-97122025-07-0115610790910.1016/j.ijid.2025.107909Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysisShunli Cai0Qingyi Luo1Guozhong Zhou2Xin Guo3Yan Dong4Hongbo Chen5Shiqi Luo6Jian He7Yuan Xia8Hanse Li9Yingchen Zhou10Chao Song11Department of Pain Medicine, The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China; Faculty of Life Science and Technology, The affiliated Anning First People's Hospital, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaDepartment of Medical Imaging, Yan’an Hospital Affiliated to Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaDepartment of Pain Medicine, The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China; School of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaFaculty of Life Science and Technology, The affiliated Anning First People's Hospital, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaDepartment of Pain Medicine, The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China; School of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Anning First People's Hospital Affiliated to Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaDepartment of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, ChinaDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Anning First People's Hospital Affiliated to Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaSchool of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaThe School of Medicine, Kunming University, Kunming, Yunnan Province, ChinaDepartment of Pain Medicine, The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China; Department of Medical Imaging, Anning First People's Hospital Affiliated to Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China; Corresponding author: Chao Song, The Affiliated Anning First People's Hospital of Kunming University of Science and Technology, Ganghe South Road, Anning City, Kunming, Yunnan 650302, China.Objectives: To update the understanding of the effectiveness of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine in preventing tuberculosis (TB) infection in children. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase were searched from their inception to January 12, 2025. Studies were included if they focused on children under 19 years exposed to pulmonary TB, used interferon-gamma release assays (IGRA) for infection assessment, and reported IGRA-positive outcomes for both BCG and non-BCG groups. Pooled estimates were derived using random-effects meta-analysis, with heterogeneity assessed by the I² statistic. Results: Total 8242 participants were enrolled in 32 studies. The overall protective effectiveness of BCG against infection was 18%, with a relative risk [RR] of 0.82 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73-0.91], I² = 60%). Subgroup analysis revealed a higher effectiveness of 29% (RR = 0.71 [95% CI: 0.62-0.82], I² = 41%) in low-TB incidence areas, while effectiveness was not significant (RR = 0.95 [95% CI: 0.84-1.09], I² = 55%) in high-TB incidence areas. Conclusions: BCG vaccination shows protective effectiveness against TB infection, particularly in low-TB incidence areas. Its effectiveness in high-TB incidence areas remains uncertain, underscoring the need for further research to optimize vaccination strategies in these settings.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971225001328Bacillus Calmette-GuérinMycobacterium tuberculosis infectionChildrenInterferon-gamma release assaysMeta-analysis
spellingShingle Shunli Cai
Qingyi Luo
Guozhong Zhou
Xin Guo
Yan Dong
Hongbo Chen
Shiqi Luo
Jian He
Yuan Xia
Hanse Li
Yingchen Zhou
Chao Song
Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Children
Interferon-gamma release assays
Meta-analysis
title Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
title_fullStr Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
title_full_unstemmed Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
title_short Effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
title_sort effect of bacillus calmette guerin vaccination against mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in children an updated systematic review and meta analysis
topic Bacillus Calmette-Guérin
Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection
Children
Interferon-gamma release assays
Meta-analysis
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1201971225001328
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