Seasonal variation in the non-specific effects of BCG vaccination on neonatal mortality: three randomised controlled trials in Guinea-Bissau.

ABSTRACT: The BCG vaccine protects non-specifically against other diseases than tuberculosis. Three randomised controlled trials of early BCG in Guinea-Bissau found a 38% reduction in all-cause neonatal mortality. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms. In Guinea-Bissau, prevalent infectious diseases display distinct seasonality. Revisiting the three trials (>6500 infants) comparing early BCG versus no early BCG in low weight infants on all-cause neonatal mortality over 12 consecutive years, we explored the seasonal variation in BCG's effect on mortality. In a subgroup of participants, adaptive and innate cytokine responses were measured 4 weeks after randomisation. Consistently over the course of the three trials and 12 years, the effect of BCG on all-cause neonatal mortality was particula

SUBMITTER: Jensen KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7059430 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature