BGC (BACILLE CALMETTE-GUERIN) VACCINE

Type of Vaccine:

Live Bacterial

Form of Vaccine:

Freeze dried

Minimum Age at 1st Dose:

Birth or anytime at birth

Number of Doses to Complete the Immunization:

Reason:

BCG given at earliest possible age protects the possibility of TB meningitis and other TB infectious in which infants are prone.

Number of Doses per Ampule:

20 ( 20 children )

Dosage:

Route of Administration:

Intradermal ( a special syringe and needle is used for the administration of BCG vaccine )

Site of Administration:

Right deltoid region of the arm

Storage Temperature:

2 C to 8 C ( in the body or refrigerator ) Note: Freezing does not damage it but ampules may break. Diluents should also be kept cold before using)

Special Precautions:

Correct ID administration is essential. A special syringe and needle is used for the administration of BCG vaccine

Side Effect:

Undesired Effect:

Indolent ulceration
Abscess on the injection site
Enlarged lymph nodes Note: (Swollen glands or abscesses occur because an unsterile needle or syringe was used, too much vaccine was injected or most commonly, the vaccine was injected incorrectly under the skin instead of its top layer).

Contraindication:

Immunosuppressed indvidual due to malignant disease ( child with clinical AIDS ) ; therapy with immunosuppressive agent or radiation.

Health Teaching:

Do not massage the area of injection
A scar will formed 12 weeks after injection
Repeat BCG vaccination if the child does not develop a scar after first injection

Reconstituting the freeze dried BCG Vaccine:

Always keep the diluent cold
Using a 5ml. syringe fitted with along needle, aspirate 2 ml. of saline solution from the opened ampule of diluent.
Inject the 2ml. saline into the ampule of freeze dried BCG.
Thoroughly mix the diluent and vaccine by drawing the mixture back into the syringe and expel it slowly into the ampule several times.
Return the reconstituted vaccine on the slit of the foam provided in the vaccine carrier.

Giving BCG Vaccine:

Clean the skin with a cotton ball moistened with water and let skin dry.
Hold the child’s arm with your left hand so that your hand is under, and your thumb and finger come around the arm and stretch the skin.
Hold the syringe in your right hand with the bevel and the scale pointing up towards you.
Lay the syringe and needle almost flat along the child’s arm.
Insert the tip of the needle into skin – just the bevel. Keep the needle flat along the skin and the bevel facing upwards, so the vaccine only goes into the upper layers of the skin.
Put your left thumb over the needle end to hold it in position. Hold the plunger between the index and middle fingers of the right hand and press the plunger in with your right thumb.
If the vaccine is injected correctly into the skin, a flat wheal with the surface pitted like an orange peel will appear at the injection site.
Withdraw needle gently.

Note:

Any remaining reconstituted vaccine must be discarded after 6 hours or at the end of the immunization sessions, whichever comes first.
The small raised lump appears at the injection site, usually disappears within 30 minutes.
After 2 weeks, a red sore forms that is about the size of the end of an unsharpened pencil.
The sore remains for another two weeks and then heals, a small scar, about 5mm across remains. This is a sign that the child has been effectively immunized.
Repeat BCG vaccination if the child does not develop a scar after the 1st injection

BCG vaccine is moderately effective. It has a protective efficacy of: