BCG vaccine in Korea.
- Author:
Sun Myung JOUNG
1
;
Sungweon RYOO
Author Information
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords: BCG vaccine; Korea; Tuberculosis
- MeSH: Academies and Institutes; BCG Vaccine; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); France; Hand; Korea; Korean War; Mycobacterium bovis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Organization and Administration; Sprains and Strains; Tuberculosis; Tuberculosis Vaccines; Virulence Factors
- From:Clinical and Experimental Vaccine Research 2013;2(2):83-91
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: The anti-tuberculosis Bacille de Calmette et Guerin (BCG) vaccine was developed between 1905 and 1921 at Pasteur Institutes of Lille in France, and was adopted by many countries. BCG strains comprise natural mutants of major virulence factors of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and that BCG sub-strains differ markedly in virulence levels. The tuberculosis became endemic in Korea after the Korean War (1950s). The BCG strain, which was donated by Pasteur Institutes, was brought to Korea in 1955, and the first domestic BCG vaccine was produced by the National Defense Research Institute (NDRI), current Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), in 1960. Since 1987, BCG manufacture work was handed over to the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis (KIT), the freeze-dried BCG vaccine was manufactured at a scale required to meet the whole amount of domestic consumption. However, since 2006, the manufacture of BCG vaccine suspended and the whole amount of BCG was imported at this point of time. Now KIT is planning to re-produce the BCG vaccine in Korea under the supervision of KCDC, this will be render great role to National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTP) and provide initiating step for developing new tuberculosis vaccines in Korea.
