title: Does vaccination with bacille Calmette-Guérin protect against AIDS?
abstract: In the United States a majority of patients with AIDS are infected with bacteria of the Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC), while in Sweden only approximately 10% of AIDS patients are so infected. It is proposed that general vaccination with bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) in Sweden may have induced protection not only against tuberculosis but also against infections with MAC, accounting for the lower incidence of MAC infection in Swedish patients with AIDS. The current AIDS pandemic may indicate a need for reevaluation of national BCG vaccination policies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, National Bacteriological Laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Källenius
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Hoffner
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Svenson
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications*; D001500:BCG Vaccine; D006801:Humans; D015270:Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare Infection / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013548:Sweden; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D001500:BCG Vaccine