Study: Infants with HIV at risk from tuberculosis vaccine

Babies with HIV face potentially fatal risks from a standard tuberculosis vaccine, a new study published Wednesday in a World Health Organization magazine showed. A South African research team found that the Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, given to about three-quarters of all newborns to protect against TB, may cause harm that outweighs the benefits for HIV-infected infants. Those infants could contract a deadly form of tuberculosis, and the researchers recommended delaying deploying the vaccine until the HIV status of the patient is known.