Consensus statement on the revised World Health Organization recommendations for BCG vaccination in HIV-infected infants.

This document outlines the consensus agreement from the Union's BCG Working Group regarding BCG vaccination in HIV-infected infants, in response to recently revised World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, which make HIV infection in infants a full contraindication to bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination. BCG is one of the most widely given vaccines globally and is safe in immunocompetent individuals. Recent evidence shows that HIV-infected infants who were routinely vaccinated with BCG at birth, when asymptomatic, and who later developed AIDS, are at high risk of developing disseminated BCG disease (estimated incidence 407-1300 per 100 000). The document outlines requirements to implement selective BCG vaccination strategies in infants born to HIV-infected women and strategies to reduce the risk of vertical HIV transmission and disseminated BCG disease in infants.