Evolution of the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin scar Russia and Moreau strains in newborns: A brazilian cohort

BACKGROUND: In Brazil, in 1925, the Moreau strain was introduced, and since its implementation, it has been the routine vaccine for health services. Since 2013, many countries, including Brazil, have been experiencing problems with the production of vaccines. As of January 2018, the country started to use the BCG vaccine with Russia strain, developed by the Serum Institute India. OBJECTIVE: To describe the evolution of the vaccine scar in neonates vaccinated by BCG-Russia compared to BCG-Moreau. METHODS: This was a cohort study was conducted in Salvador city, northeast Brazil. The study population consisted of newborns from the reference maternity hospital, who were vaccinated with BCG-ID strains Moreau or Russia, followed up to assess vaccine lesion evolution. RESULTS: It was observed that regardless of the vaccine strains, the evolution of the lesion was the same: wheal, reddish macula, induration, pustule, ulcer, and scar. The proportion of vaccine scar in the group vaccinated with BCG Russia was lower than that of BCG Moreau, 62.5 % and 90.9 %, respectively, with a statistically significant difference. CONCLUSION: The evolution of the scar by BCG-Russia was similar to the Moreau scar, however different proportions were observed in different stages of lesion between the groups.