Mycobacterium bovis lymphadenitis complicating BCG immunization in an infant with symptomatic HIV-1 infection

A 3-month-old infant with HIV-1 infection who recently immigrated from Ethiopia developed regional lymphadenitis and systemic symptoms subsequent to BCG immunization. She was suffering from axillary lymphadenitis ipsilateral to the BCG vaccination site, failure to thrive, unresolving fever and hepatosplenomegaly. Acid-fast bacilli were seen on staining and Mycobacterium bovis was isolated from the regional lymph node. The infant responded promptly to triple antituberculous therapy but died 2 months later from overwhelming pneumonia and respiratory failure. This case emphasizes the iatrogenic hazards of BCG immunization in HIV-1 infected infants. With the increasing prevalence of pediatric HIV-1 infection, indiscriminate BCG immunization programs should be reconsidered. While infants with asymptomatic HIV-1 infection at risk for tuberculosis should be immunized, BCG immunization should be withheld in those with symptomatic disease.