Pulmonary tuberculosis due to BCG in a technician employed in a BCG laboratory

X-ray examination of the lungs of a laboratory technician in the BCG Department of the Statens Seruminstitut, Copenhagen revealed a lung tumour and possible signs of tuberculosis. The diagnosis was confirmed by macroscopic and histopathological examination of lung tissue removed by surgery. Subsequent bacteriological examination showed the infection to have been caused by BCG. The possibility is discussed of whether the condition had developed from a metastatic lesion following BCG vaccination, or was the result of an aerogenic infection during the production of BCG vaccine. The simultaneous development of the tuberculous condition and the tumour is remarkable but is not discussed further. The requirements of WHO when signs of tuberculosis are found in a worker in a BCG laboratory were complied with in this instance, but it was not considered necessary to change the routine procedure in the BCG Department.