Evaluation of BCG vaccination in Bab El Shaaria zone--Cairo

137 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis with positive sputum by direct smear and/or culture were studied as regards BCG vaccination. Among these cases the percentage of vaccinated individuals was 23.3% (32 out of 137) and the percentage of unvaccinated individuals was 76.7% (105 out of 137). This may reveal a beneficial effect of BCG. It also shows that the percentage of vaccination in our zone is very low. In our study there were 7% diseased contacts among the vaccinated and 13.8% among the unvaccinated contacts, so BCG was of high protective value. The pulmonary lesions were less extensive among vaccinated and contacts as compared to unvaccinated and contacts. No miliary cases occurred among vaccinated persons, while there were 2 cases among unvaccinated. The majority of diseased contacts occurred in the younger age group: 24 out of 48 (50%) below 5 years.