BCG vaccine scars tied to decline in infant mortality

Scarring caused by bacillus Calmette-Guérin, or BCG, vaccine in both mothers and infants was associated with a significant decrease in infant mortality, according to findings from a randomized controlled trial published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. The researchers wrote that the effect of the tuberculosis vaccine on mortality was not as strong when only the child had scarring.