Effects of low birth weight on time to BCG vaccination in an Urban Poor Settlement of Nairobi
The World Health Organization recommends the BCG vaccination against TB be given at birth. Low birth weight (LBW) children should not be vaccinated with BCG at birth. Studies have shown BCG to be beneficial in terms of child survival more so when given on time. This paper seeks to understand the effects of LBW on timing of BCG. This is motivated by the fact that LBW children are often not BCG vaccinated at birth.
METHODS:
The study was part of a longitudinal Maternal and Child Health study undertaken in Korogocho and Viwandani slums of Nairobi which hosts the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System (NUHDSS). All women from the DSS area who gave birth since September 2006 were enrolled in the project, visited every four month and administered a questionnaire which includes vaccination history of their children and the weight of the child at birth were recorded from the child’s clinic card. For the purpose of this study, we used data on 3640 children of whose card was seen after 90 days age, had a valid BCG vaccine date and had a birth weight recorded
RESULTS:
Low birth weight prevalence was estimated at 6.4%. 15.8% of the severe LBW children (<2.0KG) had been BCG vaccinated and 75.3% of the mild LBW (2.0-2.49KG) were vaccinated by the second week of life compared to 86.1% among normal birth weight children. 60% of the LBW children received BCG after more than 5 weeks of life. Timing of BCG vaccine depended on place of delivery with private health facility less likely to receive BCG on time compared to public health facility.
CONCLUSIONS:
Low birth weight children received BCG vaccination late. Delay depends on gender and the place of delivery.