[Should the BCG vaccine still be recommended?]

The BCG vaccine has demonstrated its efficacy to protect young children from severe extrapulmonary forms of tuberculosis. Nevertheless, the immunity induced by the vaccine disappears in adults and cannot be boosted by readministration of BCG. Adverse effects of BCG are rare, but potentially dangerous (i.e. disseminated vaccinal infections) and they justify the fact that BCG should not be administered anymore in Western European countries where the incidence of pediatric tuberculous meningitis is very low. The vaccine is still recommanded for children living in countries with high tuberculosis prevalence and for resident children leaving Belgium for these countries.