This report of a study of the results of BCG vaccination was culled from the records of the Tuberculosis Department of the Oslo Public Health Service. Of 18,496 persons vaccinated, only a portion were available for analysis. Matched with the vaccinated were 1,832 nonvaccinated persons, who served as controls.
The Norwegian law of 1942 made convertors (persons whose tuberculin skin reactions changed from negative to positive) reportable. In December 1947, BCG was made compulsory for certain groups in Norway. In this material BCG seemed to eliminate such primary tuberculous lesions as erythema nodosum and tuberculosum, hilar adenitis and roentgenologic primary foci in the lungs. This seemed to be more evident in males than in females.
A comparison of the vaccinated and the controls revealed a difference in the rate in the two groups, as follows: group A, true primary tuberculosis of the lungs and hilar lymph nodes, with or without