HealthInfo Canterbury
BCG (TB) vaccination
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The BCG vaccination is used to help prevent people getting tuberculosis (TB).
TB isn't common in New Zealand so BCG vaccinations aren't routinely given. The Ministry of Health recommends that children under 5 who have a higher risk of catching TB should get the BCG vaccine. The BCG vaccine is free for those children.
Children have a higher risk of catching TB if they:
- will be living with someone who has TB or has had TB
- have a parent, household member or carer who has lived for six months or longer in a country with high rates of TB, sometime within the last five years
- will be living for three months or longer in a country with high rates of TB before they're 5 years old.
Countries with high rates of TB include:
- most of Africa
- much of South America
- Russia and the former Soviet states
- the Indian subcontinent
- China, including Hong Kong
- Taiwan (ROC)
- South East Asia (except Singapore)
- some Pacific nations (except the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau and Tonga).
The best time for the vaccination is within a few days of birth. Your child can be vaccinated any time if they're under 5. But if they're older than 6 months, they need to be tested before being vaccinated. The test is called the Mantoux test. It tests if your child has been exposed to TB.
Your midwife or GP should tell you if your child should be vaccinated. Talk to one of them if you think your child has a higher risk of catching TB.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Ministry of Health – BCG Vaccine: Information for parents
Information about TB and the BCG vaccine, including how to care for your child after they've had the vaccination.
This information is also available in Māori, Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Cambodian-Khmer, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Fijian, Hindi, Japanese, Kiribati (Gilbertese), Korean, Persian (Farsi), Pushto Afghani, Somali, Tuvaluan and Vietnamese.
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed June 2021.
See also:
Review key: HIIMM-47872
