children s health issues
Tuberculosis (TB) in Newborns
Prevention of TB in Newborns
Doctors typically give the antibioticisoniazidto infants who have been exposed to an active tuberculosis infection even if they are not ill because this medication helps prevent the infection from becoming active. In medically underserved areas of the world, where the risk of developing tuberculosis is higher, newborns are routinely given a vaccine called bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) to help prevent childhood tuberculosis. Doctors usually do not recommend the BCG vaccine for people living in high-resource countries where the risk of infection is lower. 