A case of disseminated BCG infection in a daughter of Italian immigrants in Switzerland

Authors

  • Claudia Colomba Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Italy
  • Raffaella Rubino Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, AOU Policlinico “P. Giaccone”, 90127 Palermo, Italy
  • Manlio Tolomeo Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, AOU Policlinico “P. Giaccone”, 90127 Palermo, Italy
  • Davide Lo Porto Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Italy
  • Silvia Bonura Infectious and Tropical Disease Unit, AOU Policlinico “P. Giaccone”, 90127 Palermo, Italy
  • Stefano Agrenzano Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Italy
  • Antonio Cascio Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Italy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3855/jidc.15388

Keywords:

Disseminated BCG infection, IFN-γR1 deficiency

Abstract

Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine against tuberculosis and contains a live, attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis as its essential constituent. Being a live, attenuated strain with potential pathogenicity, BCG can cause different complications, both near the inoculation site and through blood dissemination, especially in patients with immunodeficiency. IFN-γR1 deficiency is an autosomal recessively inherited immunodeficiency characterized by predisposition to infections with intracellular pathogens, in particular mycobacteria.

We report a rare case of chronic osteomyelitis lasting 30 years due to BCG in a woman with IFN-γR1 deficiency who had previous clinical history of multi-organ BCGitis. Diagnosis of chronic osteomyelitis was confirmed by an 18-fluorine fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with CT scan (18F-FDG PET/CT).

In children with a history of BCG vaccination and chronic unexplained infections, a clinical suspicion of BCG-related disease must arise, and a reason of immunodeficiency should be sought.

Downloads

Published

2022-02-28

How to Cite

1.
Colomba C, Rubino R, Tolomeo M, Lo Porto D, Bonura S, Agrenzano S, Cascio A (2022) A case of disseminated BCG infection in a daughter of Italian immigrants in Switzerland. J Infect Dev Ctries 16:383–387. doi: 10.3855/jidc.15388

Issue

Vol. 16 No. 02: February 2022

Section

Case Reports

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC