BCG vaccine BCG was adopted by the Health Committee of the League of Nations (predecessor to the WHO). Because of opposition, however, it only became widely used after World War II. From 1945 to 1948, relief organizations (International Tuberculosis Campaign or Joint Enterprises) vaccinated over 8 million babies in eastern Europe and prevented the predicted typical increase of TB after a major war. BCG is very efficacious against tuberculous meningitis in the pediatric age group, but its efficacy against pulmonary tuberculosis appears to be variable. As of 2006, only a few countries do not use BCG for routine vaccination. Two countries that
Inoculation is derived from the Latin "in + oculus" (eye). Though "innoculation/innoculate" (with a double "nn" rather than a single "n") is sometimes seen, this is incorrect, possibly erroneously thought to be related to innocuous, which is derived from the Latin "in + nocuus" (not harmful). Inoculation originated as a method for the prevention of smallpox by deliberate introduction of material from smallpox pustules into the skin. This generally produced a less severe infection than naturally-acquired smallpox, but still induced immunity to it. This first method for smallpox prevention, smallpox inoculation, is now also known as variolation. Inoculation has ancient origins