Administering a Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) shot along with oral polio vaccine (OPV) within the first 48 hours of life could save newborn lives, particularly improving the survival rates of low-birth-weight babies weighing less than 2 kilogrammes, a JIPMER study has found.
The results of the study, which were published in the September issue of the British Medical Journal, showed that when BCG and OPV were given immediately after birth rather than delayed, neonatal mortality was reduced by 17% overall and nearly halved in cases of death due to infection. Importantly, one in every 21 babies vaccinated early survived, who otherwise might have developed a fatal condition from an infection.
Traditionally, the hospital experience has been that though the BCG is supposed to be given at birth to protect against severe forms of tuberculosis, many small or sick newborns receive it late—only at the time of hospital discharge.
“Conventionally, doctors treating a sick newborn tend to delay the intradermal vaccine, solely focusing instead on stabilising the baby. What we advocate is a two-pronged strategy---simultaneously giving antibiotics to treat sepsis and administering the BCG vaccine that will give additional protection against any infectious bug”, said Bethou Adhisivam, who led the study by a team at the Department of Neonatology, JIPMER, Puducherry.
