Full form of B.C.G. is Baccillus Calmettee Guerin
Method of preparation of BCG vaccine
It is freeze- dried preparation containing live culture of the bacillus Calmette and Guerin strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Preparation: The bacilli are grown on a suitable culture media until 1 mg when plated out on a suitable solid culture media shows not less than 20 million colonies. The growth period should not be more than 14 days in any case. After a suitable growth, they are separated by filtration in the form of a cake. The cake is homogenized in a grinding flask and suspended in a suitable sterile liquid medium designed to preserve the antigenicity and viability of the vaccine. The suspension is transferred into the final sterile containers and freeze-dried. Then containers are sealed so as to prevent contamination or deterioration of the vaccine. The vaccine contains no antimicrobial agent.
Storage: Store in hermetically sealed light resistant glass containers at a temperature between 2 0 C and 8 0 C. The reconstituted vaccine should be used immediately after its preparation.
Uses: Immunising agent which provides protection against tuberculosis.
Dose: Prophylactic, 0.1 ml as a single dose by intra-cutaneous injection