BCG in Finland: changing from a universal to a selected programme

Abstract

In Finland, all newborns are currently offered BCG vaccination, and the national coverage is over 98%. The annual incidence of tuberculosis is low, at 6.6/100 000 in 2004 and has been steadily declining in recent years. Finland differs from the other Nordic countries in that the majority of cases are detected in people aged 65 and over in the indigenous population, and only a smaller proportion (12%) detected in immigrants. The high incidence of TB and MDR TB in neighbouring countries has raised concern, but no increase in TB detected in Finnish-born citizens has been seen. A decision has been made to change from mass BCG vaccination to targeting risk groups.