BCG vaccine 400 per 100,000 in that higher risk context). The age of the person and the frequency with which BCG is given has always varied from country to country. BCG is prepared from a strain of the attenuated (virulence-reduced) live bovine tuberculosis bacillus, "Mycobacterium bovis", that has lost its ability to cause disease in humans. Because the living bacilli evolve to make the best use of available nutrients, they become less well-adapted to human blood and can no longer induce disease when introduced into a human host. Still, they are similar enough to their wild ancestors to provide some degree of
BCG disease outbreak in Finland in the 2000s to a different strain. In August 2002, the BCG vaccine used in Finland was discontinued by the manufacturer after factory inspectors were dissatisfied with the manufacturing process. Finland switched to a Danish strain BCG vaccine which did not have marketing authorization in Finland. Despite lack of marketing authorization, the vaccine was offered and recommended to all Finnish newborns (ca. 55 000 - 60 000 per year), and parents were not told the vaccine had no marketing authorization as required by Finnish and European Union legislation. The vaccine was injected into the thigh of newborns, despite clear manufacturer instructions that the