Discover the research work of Professor Marie-Claude Rousseau to better understand the efficacy of the Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine against tuberculosis and other diseases
Professor Marie-Claude Rousseau, upon her arrival at INRS, saw the immense potential of the BCG vaccination registry for large-scale epidemiological studies. Indeed, a colossal BCG vaccination programme took place in Quebec from 1949 to 1974, instigated by Dr Armand Frappier himself. Vaccination certificates for the province were sent to the central registry, kept at the Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie of the INRS.
The objective of this research project is to determine whether the non-specific stimulation of the immune system at an early age by the BCG vaccine is associated with beneficial or harmful health effects. The BCG vaccination registry is a unique resource with enormous potential to answer questions about possible non-targeted effects of this vaccine.
The scope of the knowledge generated will go far beyond BCG vaccination, contributing to a better understanding of the role of immunostimulation in early life. The results of this work will inform decisions regarding the use of BCG and the development of new vaccines against tuberculosis, and will open up new avenues of research regarding the protective effect of BCG for other diseases.