The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 275 No 7358 p72
16 July 2005

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Changes to schools tuberculosis vaccination programme to be made throughout the UK

Changes to the tuberculosis vaccination programme across the UK were announced last week. Schoolchildren will no longer be routinely vaccinated.

Instead, the new programme will identify and vaccinate babies and older people who are considered to be at greatest risk of tuberculosis infection.

The programme is as a result of advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and reflects changing patterns of TB in the UK since the BCG programme was first introduced in the 1950s. TB now tends to be concentrated in large cities and specific population groups.

Under the new programme, which will begin in September, the following groups will be offered vaccination:

· All babies living in areas where the incidence of TB is 40/100,000 or greater
· Babies whose parents or grandparents have lived in a country with a TB prevalence of 40/100,000 or higher
· Unvaccinated new immigrants from countries with a high TB prevalence

At the same time, the Mantoux test will replace the Heaf test as the standard tuberculin skin test in the UK.