Bcg, Bacille Calmetteguerin

BCG is a vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis. Its name comes from an abbreviation of the French name Bacille Calmette-Guérin, which was developed in the early 20th century as a result of the work of Léon Calmette and Jean Marie Guérin.

BCG is based on a strain of Mycobacterium bovis, the causative agent of tuberculosis in cattle. However, this strain has been subjected to a long series of cultural changes, resulting in reduced virulence. Thus, BCG is not capable of causing the development of tuberculosis in humans, but retains antigenic activity, which allows it to be used to prepare a vaccine against this disease.

BCG is introduced into the human body through an injection under the skin or intradermally. After the vaccine is administered, the immune system is activated, which begins to fight the tuberculosis pathogen. This leads to the emergence of stable immunity to the disease.

BCG is one of the most widely used vaccines in the world. It is widely used in countries with high incidence of tuberculosis such as India, China, South Africa and others. However, despite its widespread use, the effectiveness of BCG is not absolute, and its use does not always guarantee protection against tuberculosis.

In general, BCG is an important measure for the prevention of tuberculosis and helps reduce the incidence of this dangerous disease. However, like any vaccine, it has its own characteristics and disadvantages, so before using it you should definitely consult your doctor.



BCG (Bcg), Bacillus Calmetteguerin (Bacille Calmetteguerin) is a strain of bacteria that was obtained as a result of a long-term culture of the tuberculosis bacillus and is a reduced virulent version of the causative agent of this disease.

The BCG strain was isolated in the early 1920s by French scientists Albert Calmette and Jean Guerin. They conducted a series of experiments aimed at obtaining a vaccine against tuberculosis. To do this, they used the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis, which causes tuberculosis in livestock. Several strains of this bacterium were isolated and cultured over several years. After repeated subcultures and isolations, the scientists obtained a strain that did not cause disease when introduced into animals, but retained antigenic activity.

This strain was named BCG in honor of its creators - Calmette and Guerin. The BCG-based vaccine was first used in 1921 in France and has since become widely used throughout the world to prevent tuberculosis.

There are different versions of BCG vaccines that are used in different countries. The vaccine contains live bacteria that are introduced into the human body and trigger an immune response. At the same time, bacteria cannot cause the development of tuberculosis, since they are low virulent.

BCG vaccination is carried out in many countries of the world, including Russia. It is included in the national vaccination calendar and is carried out in early childhood. BCG vaccination is considered an effective way to prevent tuberculosis, but does not provide complete protection against the disease. Therefore, other methods are also used to combat tuberculosis - organizing screening studies, treating patients, etc.

Thus, BCG (Bcg), Bacille Calmetteguerin (Bacille Calmetteguerin) is a strain of bacteria that is used to prepare a vaccine against tuberculosis. BCG vaccination is an effective way to prevent the disease, but does not provide complete protection. Therefore, to combat tuberculosis it is necessary to use an integrated approach.



BCG is a strain of the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, isolated from animals (bovine, sheep) and used in the vaccination of children.

The BCG vaccine has its predecessor, discovered by the French scientist Calmette and the American scientist Guerin - M. vaccae. This vaccine was administered to children until about 1920 and had specific immunity to tuberculosis. Then Professor Calmette was poisoned by formaldehyde fumes while conducting an experiment on dried sticks, and his assistant Guerin continued the research. He found out that formaldehyde destroys the protein shell of the virus, which determines the immune response, and conducted experiments on bulls, proving not only that MBTK does not die in the animal’s body, but can also multiply in it without showing clinical symptoms. It turned out that if you vaccinate newborns of these “experimental” individuals, they will be more resistant to tuberculosis. There are three types of BCG vaccine: dry - formed using killed live pathogenic bacteria; liquid - in the form of a suspension in which live, strengthened and unprotected MBTK are preserved in combination with a special stabilizer. The scientific name of BCG is Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. The letter "B" stands for Bacillus, i.e.