Trial to Compare Two Strains of BCG

Summary

The trial will be a two-year outcome assessor-blinded RCT at the maternity ward of hospital Simão Mendes (HNSM) in urban Bissau, Guinea-Bissau to compare BCG-Japan versus BCG-Russia 1:1 in 15,000 infants with respect to mortality, morbidity and case-fatality rate during hospital admission. The trial will also examine the association between BCG strains and BCG skin reaction characteristics by six weeks (data collected by telephone) and at two and six months (data collected at home-visits to a subgroup of the cohort). As a secondary aim, this large study will be used to further evaluate the role of maternal BCG immune priming for overall health, since there are indications that maternal BCG scarring enhances the non-specific effects of BCG.

Timeline

Start

2020-05-04

Primary completion

2022-10-30

Completion

2022-12-01

Publications

• Background Wardlaw T, You D, Newby H, Anthony D, Chopra M. Child survival: a message of hope but a call for renewed commitment in UNICEF report. Reprod Health. 2013 Dec 11;10:64. doi: 10.1186/1742-4755-10-64.
• Background Lawn JE, Cousens S, Zupan J; Lancet Neonatal Survival Steering Team. 4 million neonatal deaths: when? Where? Why? Lancet. 2005 Mar 5-11;365(9462):891-900. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71048-5.
• Background Calmette A. Preventive Vaccination Against Tuberculosis with BCG. Proc R Soc Med. 1931 Sep;24(11):1481-90. doi: 10.1177/003591573102401109. No abstract available.
• Background Benn CS, Roth A, Garly ML, Fisker AB, Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Timmermann A, Berendsen M, Aaby P. BCG scarring and improved child survival: a combined analysis of studies of BCG scarring. J Intern Med. 2020 Dec;288(6):614-624. doi: 10.1111/joim.13084. Epub 2020 May 25.
• Background Roth A, Sodemann M, Jensen H, Poulsen A, Gustafson P, Weise C, Gomes J, Djana Q, Jakobsen M, Garly ML, Rodrigues A, Aaby P. Tuberculin reaction, BCG scar, and lower female mortality. Epidemiology. 2006 Sep;17(5):562-8. doi: 10.1097/01.ede.0000231546.14749.ab.
• Background Timmermann CA, Biering-Sorensen S, Aaby P, Fisker AB, Monteiro I, Rodrigues A, Benn CS, Ravn H. Tuberculin reaction and BCG scar: association with infant mortality. Trop Med Int Health. 2015 Dec;20(12):1733-44. doi: 10.1111/tmi.12614. Epub 2015 Oct 22.
• Background Garly ML, Martins CL, Bale C, Balde MA, Hedegaard KL, Gustafson P, Lisse IM, Whittle HC, Aaby P. BCG scar and positive tuberculin reaction associated with reduced child mortality in West Africa. A non-specific beneficial effect of BCG? Vaccine. 2003 Jun 20;21(21-22):2782-90. doi: 10.1016/s0264-410x(03)00181-6.
• Background Biering-Sorensen S, Aaby P, Lund N, Monteiro I, Jensen KJ, Eriksen HB, Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Jorgensen ASP, Rodrigues A, Fisker AB, Benn CS. Early BCG-Denmark and Neonatal Mortality Among Infants Weighing <2500 g: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2017 Oct 1;65(7):1183-1190. doi: 10.1093/cid/cix525.
• Background Biering-Sorensen S, Aaby P, Napirna BM, Roth A, Ravn H, Rodrigues A, Whittle H, Benn CS. Small randomized trial among low-birth-weight children receiving bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccination at first health center contact. Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2012 Mar;31(3):306-8. doi: 10.1097/INF.0b013e3182458289.
• Background Aaby P, Roth A, Ravn H, Napirna BM, Rodrigues A, Lisse IM, Stensballe L, Diness BR, Lausch KR, Lund N, Biering-Sorensen S, Whittle H, Benn CS. Randomized trial of BCG vaccination at birth to low-birth-weight children: beneficial nonspecific effects in the neonatal period? J Infect Dis. 2011 Jul 15;204(2):245-52. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jir240.
• Background Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Biering-Sorensen S, Lund N, Monteiro I, Umbasse P, Fisker AB, Andersen A, Rodrigues A, Aaby P, Benn CS. Early BCG Vaccination, Hospitalizations, and Hospital Deaths: Analysis of a Secondary Outcome in 3 Randomized Trials from Guinea-Bissau. J Infect Dis. 2019 Jan 29;219(4):624-632. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiy544.
• Background Benn CS, Netea MG, Selin LK, Aaby P. A small jab - a big effect: nonspecific immunomodulation by vaccines. Trends Immunol. 2013 Sep;34(9):431-9. doi: 10.1016/j.it.2013.04.004. Epub 2013 May 14.
• Background Kleinnijenhuis J, Quintin J, Preijers F, Joosten LA, Ifrim DC, Saeed S, Jacobs C, van Loenhout J, de Jong D, Stunnenberg HG, Xavier RJ, van der Meer JW, van Crevel R, Netea MG. Bacille Calmette-Guerin induces NOD2-dependent nonspecific protection from reinfection via epigenetic reprogramming of monocytes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Oct 23;109(43):17537-42. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1202870109. Epub 2012 Sep 17.
• Background Kleinnijenhuis J, Quintin J, Preijers F, Benn CS, Joosten LA, Jacobs C, van Loenhout J, Xavier RJ, Aaby P, van der Meer JW, van Crevel R, Netea MG. Long-lasting effects of BCG vaccination on both heterologous Th1/Th17 responses and innate trained immunity. J Innate Immun. 2014;6(2):152-8. doi: 10.1159/000355628. Epub 2013 Oct 30.
• Background Higgins JP, Soares-Weiser K, Lopez-Lopez JA, Kakourou A, Chaplin K, Christensen H, Martin NK, Sterne JA, Reingold AL. Association of BCG, DTP, and measles containing vaccines with childhood mortality: systematic review. BMJ. 2016 Oct 13;355:i5170. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i5170.
• Background Roth A, Gustafson P, Nhaga A, Djana Q, Poulsen A, Garly ML, Jensen H, Sodemann M, Rodriques A, Aaby P. BCG vaccination scar associated with better childhood survival in Guinea-Bissau. Int J Epidemiol. 2005 Jun;34(3):540-7. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyh392. Epub 2005 Jan 19.
• Background Berendsen MLT, Oland CB, Bles P, Jensen AKG, Kofoed PE, Whittle H, de Bree LCJ, Netea MG, Martins C, Benn CS, Aaby P. Maternal Priming: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) Vaccine Scarring in Mothers Enhances the Survival of Their Child With a BCG Vaccine Scar. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2020 Apr 30;9(2):166-172. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piy142.
• Background Storgaard L, Rodrigues A, Martins C, Nielsen BU, Ravn H, Benn CS, Aaby P, Fisker AB. Development of BCG Scar and Subsequent Morbidity and Mortality in Rural Guinea-Bissau. Clin Infect Dis. 2015 Sep 15;61(6):950-9. doi: 10.1093/cid/civ452. Epub 2015 Jun 9.
• Background Schaltz-Buchholzer F, Bjerregaard-Andersen M, Oland CB, Golding C, Stjernholm EB, Monteiro I, Aaby P, Benn CS. Early Vaccination With Bacille Calmette-Guerin-Denmark or BCG-Japan Versus BCG-Russia to Healthy Newborns in Guinea-Bissau: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Nov 5;71(8):1883-1893. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciz1080.
• Background Stensballe LG, Sorup S, Aaby P, Benn CS, Greisen G, Jeppesen DL, Birk NM, Kjaergaard J, Nissen TN, Pihl GT, Thostesen LM, Kofoed PE, Pryds O, Ravn H. BCG vaccination at birth and early childhood hospitalisation: a randomised clinical multicentre trial. Arch Dis Child. 2017 Mar;102(3):224-231. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2016-310760. Epub 2016 Jul 21.
• Background Aaby P, Martins CL, Garly ML, Andersen A, Fisker AB, Claesson MH, Ravn H, Rodrigues A, Whittle HC, Benn CS. Measles vaccination in the presence or absence of maternal measles antibody: impact on child survival. Clin Infect Dis. 2014 Aug 15;59(4):484-92. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciu354. Epub 2014 May 14.
• Background Mawa PA, Webb EL, Filali-Mouhim A, Nkurunungi G, Sekaly RP, Lule SA, Prentice S, Nash S, Dockrell HM, Elliott AM, Cose S. Maternal BCG scar is associated with increased infant proinflammatory immune responses. Vaccine. 2017 Jan 5;35(2):273-282. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.11.079. Epub 2016 Nov 30.
• Background Lule SA, Mawa PA, Nkurunungi G, Nampijja M, Kizito D, Akello F, Muhangi L, Elliott AM, Webb EL. Factors associated with tuberculosis infection, and with anti-mycobacterial immune responses, among five year olds BCG-immunised at birth in Entebbe, Uganda. Vaccine. 2015 Feb 4;33(6):796-804. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.12.015. Epub 2014 Dec 19.
• Background Behr MA. Comparative genomics of BCG vaccines. Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2001;81(1-2):165-8. doi: 10.1054/tube.2000.0253.
• Background Ritz N, Curtis N. Mapping the global use of different BCG vaccine strains. Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2009 Jul;89(4):248-51. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2009.03.002. Epub 2009 Jun 18.
• Background Ritz N, Dutta B, Donath S, Casalaz D, Connell TG, Tebruegge M, Robins-Browne R, Hanekom WA, Britton WJ, Curtis N. The influence of bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine strain on the immune response against tuberculosis: a randomized trial. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2012 Jan 15;185(2):213-22. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201104-0714OC. Epub 2011 Nov 3.
• Background Anderson EJ, Webb EL, Mawa PA, Kizza M, Lyadda N, Nampijja M, Elliott AM. The influence of BCG vaccine strain on mycobacteria-specific and non-specific immune responses in a prospective cohort of infants in Uganda. Vaccine. 2012 Mar 9;30(12):2083-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2012.01.053. Epub 2012 Jan 31.
• Background Favorov M, Ali M, Tursunbayeva A, Aitmagambetova I, Kilgore P, Ismailov S, Chorba T. Comparative tuberculosis (TB) prevention effectiveness in children of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccines from different sources, Kazakhstan. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32567. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032567. Epub 2012 Mar 9.
• Background Angelidou A, Conti MG, Diray-Arce J, Benn CS, Shann F, Netea MG, Liu M, Potluri LP, Sanchez-Schmitz G, Husson R, Ozonoff A, Kampmann B, van Haren SD, Levy O. Licensed Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) formulations differ markedly in bacterial viability, RNA content and innate immune activation. Vaccine. 2020 Feb 24;38(9):2229-2240. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.11.060. Epub 2020 Jan 28.
• Background Veirum JE, Sodeman M, Biai S, Hedegard K, Aaby P. Increased mortality in the year following discharge from a paediatric ward in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. Acta Paediatr. 2007 Dec;96(12):1832-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2007.00562.x.
• Background Biai S, Rodrigues A, Nielsen J, Sodemann M, Aaby P. Vaccination status and sequence of vaccinations as risk factors for hospitalisation among outpatients in a high mortality country. Vaccine. 2011 May 9;29(20):3662-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.03.016. Epub 2011 Apr 6.
• Background Bamji M, Stone RK, Kaul A, Usmani G, Schachter FF, Wasserman E. Palpable lymph nodes in healthy newborns and infants. Pediatrics. 1986 Oct;78(4):573-5.
• Background Roloff V, Higgins JP, Sutton AJ. Planning future studies based on the conditional power of a meta-analysis. Stat Med. 2013 Jan 15;32(1):11-24. doi: 10.1002/sim.5524. Epub 2012 Jul 11.
• Background Stefanova T. Quality control and safety assessment of BCG vaccines in the post-genomic era. Biotechnol Biotechnol Equip. 2014 May 4;28(3):387-391. doi: 10.1080/13102818.2014.927200. Epub 2014 Jul 10.
• Background Wada T, Maruyama F, Iwamoto T, Maeda S, Yamamoto T, Nakagawa I, Yamamoto S, Ohara N. Deep sequencing analysis of the heterogeneity of seed and commercial lots of the bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) tuberculosis vaccine substrain Tokyo-172. Sci Rep. 2015 Dec 4;5:17827. doi: 10.1038/srep17827.
• Background Bottai D, Brosch R. The BCG Strain Pool: Diversity Matters. Mol Ther. 2016 Feb;24(2):201-203. doi: 10.1038/mt.2016.18. No abstract available.
• Background Ritz N, Hanekom WA, Robins-Browne R, Britton WJ, Curtis N. Influence of BCG vaccine strain on the immune response and protection against tuberculosis. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 2008 Aug;32(5):821-41. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00118.x. Epub 2008 Jul 9.

Drugs

Indications