Changes to the BCG vaccination programme announced

Jul 6 2005

Changes to the BCG vaccination programme were announced today by the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson.

Following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) the current universal BCG vaccination programme delivered through schools will be replaced with an improved programme of targeted vaccination for those individuals who are at greatest risk.

The new programme will identify and vaccinate babies and older people who are most likely to catch the disease, especially in those living in areas with a high rate of TB or whose parents or grandparents were born in a TB high prevalence country.

Patterns of TB in the UK have changed significantly since the BCG programme was first introduced in the 1950s. At that time, 50,000 cases of TB were reported each year in the UK with cases occurring across most groups of people in society. Numbers of cases are now approximately 7000 a year. Although they have increased overall since the early 1990s, cases now tend to be concentrated in large cities and in specific population groups.

Based on the latest UK data, the JCVI has recommended that identifying and vaccinating those who are most likely to catch the disease is the most effective policy in the present circumstances.

Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson said:

"These recommendations reflect the changing patterns of TB infection in this country and mean we can better protect children and others who are at higher risk.

"Rates of the disease are now very low in many parts of the country and children living in these areas are at an extremely low risk of infection. However, in other areas, rates of TB are on the increase. The changes that we are implementing mean that we will target those children who are most likely to catch the disease earlier than they would have been identified through the schools programme.

"Vaccination with BCG is only one part of TB control. Identifying and treating people with TB disease early is the most important measure and is stressed in the TB Action Plan I published last year. We are one of the first countries in the world to have a comprehensive TB Action Plan. The plan set out a range of measures to tackle and ultimately eliminate TB. It also included a promise to review the BCG vaccination programme.

"This change to the vaccination programme brings us into line with international guidelines on TB control".