Child survival and BCG vaccination: a community based prospective cohort study in Uganda

Data on non-specific effects of BCG vaccination in well described, general population African cohorts is scanty. The researchers report the effects of BCG vaccination on post-neonatal infant and post-infancy mortality in a cohort of children in Mbale, Eastern Uganda. The study concludes that risk of early childhood death in Mbale, Uganda is unacceptably high. BCG vaccination was associated with an increased likelihood of child survival.