BCG vaccine immunity against human tuberculosis. The BCG vaccine can be anywhere from 0 to 80% effective in preventing tuberculosis for a duration of 15 years; however, its protective effect appears to vary according to geography and the lab in which the vaccine strain was grown. A number of different companies make BCG, sometimes using different genetic strains of the bacterium. This may result in different product characteristics. OncoTICE, used for bladder instillation for bladder cancer, was developed by Organon Laboratories (since acquired by Schering-Plough, and in turn acquired by Merck & Co.). Pacis BCG, made from the Montréal (Institut Armand-Frappier) strain,
Inoculation needle above the sterile agar plate, the inoculation needle will be streaked across the plate in controlled directions. Microbial aerosols can be created from the hitting of the inoculation tip to the sides of the agar plate. The inoculation needle is then withdrawn from the inoculated agar plate culture and flamed. An inoculation needle is an essential tool in inoculating a stab culture. A sterile stab culture cap is removed and the open end is flamed. The needle tip and its length is then pushed into the stab media and stopped once the needle tip reaches 0.5 inches away from the