Evaluation of the Immune Response to Interferon Gamma Release Assay and Tuberculin Skin Test Among BCG Vaccinated Children in East of Egypt A Cross-Sectional Study

摘要

Bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine (BCG) vaccination is used routinely in most of countries, especially developing one. The efficacy of the BCG vaccination generally decreases with time. The tuberculin skin test (TST) is a most popular diagnostic test for suspicion of tuberculosis (TB) in children till now, but it has many false positives. The interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) is more specific than TST for detection of childhood TB, as it is more specific to Mycobacterium tuberculosis.