[Specific changes in the phagocytic activity of leukocytes in children after BCG vaccination]

In 185 children vaccinated with BCG, the phagocytic activity of leukocytes (PAL) was studied in different postimmunization periods. The modified procedure for examining PAL that reveals and assays specific phagocytic changes irrespective of the level of PAL was used. A suspended matter mixture of BCG mycobacteria (a specific object) and white saprophytic staphylococci (a non-specific object) was used as the objects of phagocytosis. A specific increase in PAL in the first 1.5 years after vaccination and the specific changes of phagocytosis during a vaccination process were first established. There was a close relationship of the specific changes of phagocytosis to the size of an infiltrate at the site of vaccination injection. The strain of antituberculosis immunity may be more objectively assessed by the phagocytic test than by the size of a skin scar and by the Mantoux test with 2TE PPD-L. The phagocytic test is recommended for individual monitoring of a antituberculosis vaccination process in children.