BCG jab @ 7 weeks old bf baby in London

[ipanemagirl]

My dd is due for this jab today. I am probably being irrational but isn't she protected by my immunity? Does anyone know if fully bf babies can catch tb?

I am happy for her to have it but it just seems so young, I'd rather she were bigger and stronger.

I mean happy for her to have the jab, not tb!

bump

both mine had it at birth, i would normally have declined but my bil caught tb just before dd was born, not exactly in London but near Heathrow- I was shocked at the time but apparently near airports and in areas with lots of immigrant (who havent had bcg abroad) it can be easy to catch

ipanemagirl, if you have been advised your baby needs the jab at this age, then common sense and prob most people on mumsnet would not suggest you go against this.

I can't find any references to back this up at the moment, but my understanding is that without the vaccine your baby would still be at risk of contracting TB and your own immune status would not be sufficent to protect her.

Perhaps you can call the clinic before you go and get some information on this, so you feel properly informed.

thnx, of course you're right tiktok, but they need to immunise the herd, they may know that fully bf babies are fine for a period but can't afford any 'gaps' in herd coverage. I just wish I could wait a little longer til she was bigger/stronger, and would just like more info. But I'm looking online and will call gp too.

Ipanemagirl, even if immunity is passed to BF babies through milk, presumably there is no guarantee that the mother herself is immune, as vaccinations are not 100%.

I suspect from the reaction of health professionals a couple of years ago when my BF and recently vaccinated baby had a (very) slim chance of having been exposed to TB that there is still a chance that the child might develop TB (even though it is not all that contagious). Since my DD was born we have had 3 letters from the Public Health people saying that there has been someone with TB in one of our offices or in her nursery. Frankly it seems to be rife in London and, as the doctors kept telling me when my DD had to be seen by a specialist to be sure she was not infected "you can't be too careful with such small children".

I don't think the immunisation programme right now is about herd immunity - it is about protecting the vulnerable. There really is a lot of TB about in London these days.

hi my daughter had this injection as we live in a "high risk area of tb". My friend had tb and its pretty serious - she was an adult, and therefore i gave it to my baby, also around that age who was breastfed, it was very easy, no side effects, actually the only thing (I was so traumatised doing it i hardly listenend to the nurse!) was that it left a mark on her arm - quite noticebale, i would now ask if it could be done some where else (e.g. my mum did all my vaccinatioins under my foot so i never had the marks alot of people my generation had !)

I breastfed my baby whilst the injection was being done, she hardly noticed it - its really hard to do this with such a young baby, bit if you are having it done, it is quick and easy!

MrsHappy, that's my understanding, too - nothing to do with herd immunity, as the TB vaccine is offered selectively, to protect babies known to be at higher risk.

TB is on the rise, I am in S London and was happy that both mine had this.

TB jabs are a postcode lottery - you are lucky to be offered it

I live in central London and didn't think twice about the BCG jab. Now the jab area is a bit oozy though, but it's supposed to be fairly common.

The immunity from bf doesn't last long after you stop bf.
A had the jab last week and the nurse suggested I bf him to ensure he was relaxed first. As he was tending to pull at the breast I insisted I took him off for the actual jab, so it went 'slurp slurp OI WHERE'S MY BREAST ow I WANT BREAST NOW slurp slurp' No lasting effects at all.

there was recently an outbreak of TB at a nursery in Knighstbridge, showing how it is quite common. My son had the jab at 6 weeks - my only concern is that it apparently is only something like 70% effective.
but i'm glad he has had it...

DS is 8 weeks old, I decided to postpone the jab for a little while- he was taking antibiotics from birth due to fluid in the kidneys, and I thought it was a bit much to give him another vaccine on top of the first round of immunisations he's getting this week.

I spoke to my HV about it when she scheduled the appointment for me- she told me the BCG used to be given much later. She booked the appointment and told me to just go ahead and cancel it if I didn't want to go through with it. She was quite happy about me delaying it and we live in S London.

My ds is 16 weeks and haven't gotten round to it yet , what with illness, and other jabs etc etc.

But I will get it done - dd had hers at 6 weeks (and yes, it has left a horrible scar) and when she was 5 months? everyone at my school (kids and teachers) had to be checked for TB as a supply teacher had contracted it - I am pretty sure I had brought dd into school with her around (v small school). Though I am immune myself, and exclusively bf (and not teaching either right now ).

dd1 had her bcg shot at 1 wk old and still in hospital. she was breastfed as well. we were given it cause i am 'forren' and she is likely to travel to 'forren' places. (I live in a v. white part of the north east.)

DD2, home birth, not received it (yet) may enquire about it at 6 wk check this week. I know that herd immunity is better but will play my cards and get them immunised hoping it sticks to them.

My sister's children had it at birth and had no reaction. DS had it at 6 months and still (a year later) has a scab where he was vaccinated. I expect he will have quite a bad scar. Wish he had been given it at birth ...

Is this part of the jabs they have at 8wks? Or is it separate? We live in N London and unless it was part of the 8 wk jab, then we have not been offered it? Should I ask for dd to get given it?

it is only offered in certain areas it is not a national thing. I live in central london and I wasnt offered it when dd was born, even though I lived in an area with a high percentage of immigrants from countried where tb is prevalent.

ds had it at 6 weeks. I was thrilled when he was offered it and he was absolutely fine. dd hasn't had it as we moved to the area after she was born, and they don't do catch up.

It's not a standard part of the immunisation schedule, I think it's up to the local authority or possibly the PCT.

program targets pcts with >40 cases in 100,00 population.

dh says:

'The contribution of BCG vaccination to overall tuberculosis control in populations is
limited. The principal measures for tuberculosis control are early case finding, treatment
of active disease and latent infection (with directly observed therapy where necessary),
contact tracing, infection control and selective screening of high-risk populations.'

Universal neonatal BCG vaccination

Universal BCG vaccination should be offered to neonates (0 to 12 months of age) in a
PCT with an overall tuberculosis rate of 40/100,000 or greater.
However, it is recognised that there may be large variations in local tuberculosis rates
that do not conform to PCT boundaries. The overriding concern should be to ensure that
population groups defined by place of residence with high rates of tuberculosis are
offered universal neonatal BCG.

Selective neonatal BCG vaccination

In areas where the rates of TB are below the level recommended for universal neonatal
vaccination, local policy and practice should still ensure that neonates with a parent or
grandparent born in a country with TB incidence of 40/100,000 or greater should be
vaccinated.

General information for both options

BCG may be given at any time. For infants not vaccinated at birth, BCG may be
conveniently given at the same time as other primary childhood immunisations by Health
Visitors and Practice Nurses who routinely see children. (Note - BCG must be given in a
different limb to other vaccinations)

whole doc here

sorry ipanema ... yes fully bf babies can catch tb. fully immunised adults can catch tb. it's not the most effective of vaccines, and it's a long time since we had ours.

Depends which London borough you are in - some offer it, some don't

They routinely give this to 8 wk olds in Ireland where tb is sadly on the increase again. so, my two had to have tb injections at 5 and 3 (yrs) btu the rest of the waiting room full of tiny babies.