Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.
COMPLETED
PHASE4
12006 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2014-12-08
2018-05-01
Brief Summary
Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.
Detailed Description
Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.
In addition, observational studies from Guinea-Bissau suggest that BCG-vaccinated children who produced a scar upon immunisation have significantly better survival than BCG-vaccinated children who did not produce a scar. The pattern is the same with regard to PPD (tuberculin) skin test. While correct BCG-vaccination technique is undoubtedly important for scarring, several studies have shown that the strain of BCG might be important as well.
Globally, BCG coverage exceeds 90%, making BCG the most widely used vaccine in the world. According to UNICEF, the annual demand for the BCG vaccine was 130 million doses in 2013. Several different vaccine strains are being used, yet few studies have compared the different strains. However, several animal and human studies have shown that these genetically diverse vaccine strains induce different protective efficacy against TB, risk of adverse events and susceptibility to anti-TB drugs. Recently, a large observational study based in Uganda showed that there were significant differences between BCG strains concerning the response to specific mycobacteria and non-specific immune responses. In particular, BCG-Denmark was associated with a much higher rate of scarring (93%) than BCG-Russia (52%), but also a higher rate of adverse events in terms of ulcers and abscesses (1.8% versus 0.3%).
OBJECTIVE We aim to compare the effect of two strains of BCG (BCG-Denmark, BCG-Russia) provided at birth to children born at the National Hospital Simão Mendes (HNSM) on subsequent hospitalisations. Furthermore, mortality in the first 6 weeks and adverse events at 2 and 6 months of age will be reported for all children, and BCG scar frequency (2 and 6 months) and PPD response (6 months) will be reported for a proportion of the infants.
METHODS The study will be conducted by the Bandim Health Project (BHP). The BHP maintains a health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) in 6 districts of the capital in Guinea-Bissau covering approximately 102,000 inhabitants. All houses in the HDSS are visited monthly and all pregnancies and births are registered.
Study participants will be enrolled at the National Hospital and followed up through the HDSS and by telephone interviews as well as through hospital records. The study will be individually randomised, with 1:1 randomisation between the two strains (BCG-Denmark, BCG-Russia). During a two year inclusion period, we expect to be able to include at least 12,000 children, i.e. 6,000 in each BCG strain group. Of these, around 25% will reside within the HDSS.
Conditions
See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.
Keywords
Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.
Study Design
Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.
RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
PREVENTION
NONE
Study Groups
Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.
BCG-DENMARK
Infants randomised to receive BCG-DENMARK at dismissal from the Maternity Ward will receive one 0.05 ml dose of Mycobacterium bovis BCG live attenuated vaccine BCG-Denmark 1331 (Statens Serum Institute) by intradermal injection in the left deltoid region. Dependent on national supply, infants will receive oral polio vaccine (OPV) at the time of BCG-vaccination.
NOTE: By 1st of July 2016, infants in this arm has received BCG-Japan due to a worldwide shortage of BCG-Denmark because of a halt in production of this vaccine at the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen.
BCG-Denmark 1331 (Statens Serum Institute)
See above
BCG-RUSSIA
Infants randomised to receive BCG-RUSSIA at dismissal from the Maternity Ward will receive one 0.05 ml dose Mycobacterium bovis BCG live attenuated vaccine BCG-Russia-I (Serum Institute of India) by intradermal injection in the left deltoid region. Dependent on national supply, infants will receive oral polio vaccine (OPV) at the time of BCG-vaccination.
BCG-Russia-I (Serum Institute of India)
See above
Interventions
Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.
BCG-Denmark 1331 (Statens Serum Institute)
See above
BCG-Russia-I (Serum Institute of India)
See above
Eligibility Criteria
Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.
Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
ALL
Yes
Sponsors
Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.
Statens Serum Institut
OTHER
Bandim Health Project
OTHER
Responsible Party
Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.
Principal Investigators
Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.
Peter Aaby, Prof.
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Bandim Health Project
Locations
Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.
Bandim Health Project, Apartado 861
Bissau, , Guinea-Bissau
Countries
Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.
References
Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.
Wardlaw T, You D, Newby H, Anthony D, Chopra M. Child survival: a message of hope but a call for renewed commitment in UNICEF report. Reprod Health. 2013 Dec 11;10:64. doi: 10.1186/1742-4755-10-64.
Lawn JE, Cousens S, Zupan J; Lancet Neonatal Survival Steering Team. 4 million neonatal deaths: when? Where? Why? Lancet. 2005 Mar 5-11;365(9462):891-900. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71048-5.
Penfold S, Willey BA, Schellenberg J. Newborn care behaviours and neonatal survival: evidence from sub-Saharan Africa. Trop Med Int Health. 2013 Nov;18(11):1294-316. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12193. Epub 2013 Sep 24.
Aaby P, Roth A, Ravn H, Napirna BM, Rodrigues A, Lisse IM, Stensballe L, Diness BR, Lausch KR, Lund N, Biering-Sorensen S, Whittle H, Benn CS. Randomized trial of BCG vaccination at birth to low-birth-weight children: beneficial nonspecific effects in the neonatal period? J Infect Dis. 2011 Jul 15;204(2):245-52. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jir240.
Biering-Sorensen S, Aaby P, Napirna BM, Roth A, Ravn H, Rodrigues A, Whittle H, Benn CS. Small randomized trial among low-birth-weight children receiving bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination at first health center contact. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2012 Mar;31(3):306-8. doi: 10.1097/INF.0b013e3182458289.
Roth A, Gustafson P, Nhaga A, Djana Q, Poulsen A, Garly ML, Jensen H, Sodemann M, Rodriques A, Aaby P. BCG vaccination scar associated with better childhood survival in Guinea-Bissau. Int J Epidemiol. 2005 Jun;34(3):540-7. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyh392. Epub 2005 Jan 19.
Garly ML, Martins CL, Bale C, Balde MA, Hedegaard KL, Gustafson P, Lisse IM, Whittle HC, Aaby P. BCG scar and positive tuberculin reaction associated with reduced child mortality in West Africa. A non-specific beneficial effect of BCG? Vaccine. 2003 Jun 20;21(21-22):2782-90. doi: 10.1016/s0264-410x(03)00181-6.
Roth A, Sodemann M, Jensen H, Poulsen A, Gustafson P, Weise C, Gomes J, Djana Q, Jakobsen M, Garly ML, Rodrigues A, Aaby P. Tuberculin reaction, BCG scar, and lower female mortality. Epidemiology. 2006 Sep;17(5):562-8. doi: 10.1097/01.ede.0000231546.14749.ab.
Behr MA. BCG--different strains, different vaccines? Lancet Infect Dis. 2002 Feb;2(2):86-92. doi: 10.1016/s1473-3099(02)00182-2.
Ritz N, Curtis N. Mapping the global use of different BCG vaccine strains. Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2009 Jul;89(4):248-51. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2009.03.002. Epub 2009 Jun 18.
Behr MA. Correlation between BCG genomics and protective efficacy. Scand J Infect Dis. 2001;33(4):249-52. doi: 10.1080/003655401300077180.
Ritz N, Hanekom WA, Robins-Browne R, Britton WJ, Curtis N. Influence of BCG vaccine strain on the immune response and protection against tuberculosis. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2008 Aug;32(5):821-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00118.x. Epub 2008 Jul 9.
Anderson EJ, Webb EL, Mawa PA, Kizza M, Lyadda N, Nampijja M, Elliott AM. The influence of BCG vaccine strain on mycobacteria-specific and non-specific immune responses in a prospective cohort of infants in Uganda. Vaccine. 2012 Mar 9;30(12):2083-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.01.053. Epub 2012 Jan 31.
Biai S, Rodrigues A, Nielsen J, Sodemann M, Aaby P. Vaccination status and sequence of vaccinations as risk factors for hospitalisation among outpatients in a high mortality country. Vaccine. 2011 May 9;29(20):3662-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.03.016. Epub 2011 Apr 6.
Aaby P, Whittle H, Benn CS. Vaccine programmes must consider their effect on general resistance. BMJ. 2012 Jun 14;344:e3769. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e3769. No abstract available.
Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Bjerregaard-Andersen M, Oland CB, Golding C, Stjernholm EB, Monteiro I, Aaby P, Benn CS. Early Vaccination With Bacille Calmette-Guerin-Denmark or BCG-Japan Versus BCG-Russia to Healthy Newborns in Guinea-Bissau: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Nov 5;71(8):1883-1893. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz1080.
Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Bjerregard Oland C, Berendsen M, Bjerregaard-Andersen M, Stjernholm EB, Golding CN, Monteiro I, Aaby P, Benn CS. Maternal BCG primes for enhanced health benefits in the newborn. J Infect. 2022 Mar;84(3):321-328. doi: 10.1016/j.jinf.2021.12.028. Epub 2021 Dec 24.
Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Berendsen M, Roth A, Jensen KJ, Bjerregaard-Andersen M, Kjaer Sorensen M, Monteiro I, Aaby P, Stabell Benn C. BCG skin reactions by 2 months of age are associated with better survival in infancy: a prospective observational study from Guinea-Bissau. BMJ Glob Health. 2020 Sep;5(9):e002993. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002993.
Other Identifiers
Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.
BCGSTRAIN
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id