Parents whose children are potentially at risk of developing Tuberculosis (TB) are being encouraged to get their children immunised against the disease.
TB is a serious infection which predominantly affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body such as the bones, joints and kidneys, and sometimes lead to meningitis.
Here at Harrow Health Care Centre, we are now in a unique position to offer the BCG vaccine AJ V(Bacillus Calmette-Guerin vaccine) which has been selected by Public Health England as the licenced UK vaccine for the NHS.
The vaccine is not given out as part of the routine NHS childhood vaccination schedule and is only distributed in high-risk areas when a baby is thought to have an increased risk of coming into contact with TB.
Until recently supplies to the private sector were suspended, following the decision two and a half years ago by the unit in Denmark which manufactured and supplied the licenced BCG vaccine to most of Europe to cease production on the vaccine.
This meant that many children were left unprotected against TB or were having to receive unlicensed versions of the immunisation that were used by both the NHS and private medical centres from India and most recently imported from InterVax LTD in Canada.
However, there is now no longer any shortage of supply for the vaccine and we have now been able to obtain an unrestricted supply of the licenced vaccine from the original supplier in Denmark.
The vaccine is 75-80 per cent effective against the most severe forms of TB and is made from a weakened form of a bacterium closely related to the disease. Because the bacterium is weak, the vaccine triggers the immune system to protect against the disease without developing the infection.
For more information on the BCG Tuberculosis vaccine go to https://goo.gl/WvPpNU
