Could it be the vaccine discovered a century ago, “the key” to face the coronavirus?

A “inference” such in number within the Iberian Peninsula is mysterious, but in part can be explained by the different use of the two countries for a vaccine.

Not a vaccine. COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus no such vaccine still exists, but it is the decades-old tuberculosis vaccine that seems to offer an explanation.

As it says EuronewsA new scientific study has revealed a possible link between countries where it is mandatory to vaccinate against tuberculosis, also called “Bacillos Calmette-Guer” (BCG), and the impact of the coronavirus.

“We found that countries without universal vaccination policies BCG (Italia, Netherlands, U.S.A.) are more seriously affected than countries with long and universal policies of BCG”, the authors of the study write.

“There have been reports that BCG vaccines can produce widespread protection against respiratory infections”, Gonzalo Otazu, a researcher at the New York Institute of Technology and one of the authors of the study, explained on Twitter.

“We looked at the data: countries that never implemented a BCG universal vaccine were hit hard by COVID-19, with a high death rate for residents”.

Otazu compared policies in countries where tuberculosis vaccination has been universally applied where everyone needs to be injected and places he hasn't been.

Italy, with the largest number of deaths from COVID-19 to 13.915, has never applied tuberculosis vaccine universally.

Meanwhile, Japan, which has reported only 63 deaths from coronavirus and has taken less strict measures of content, has a universal immunization policy.

Researchers also compared Iran to Japan, two countries that have applied universal vaccine BCG, but at different times.

Japan began its universal vaccine policy BCG in 1947, while Iranian politics were implemented in 1984. Japan has about 100 fewer deaths per million than Iran, they found.

“countries that have a late start of BCG's universal policy (Iran, 1984) had high mortality, in line with the idea that BCG protects the old population vaccinated”, wrote the authors.

“We also found that the BCG inoculation also reduced the number of reported cases of COVID-19 to a country”.

The Different Influence of Coronavirus in Western and Eastern Europe

The investigation is also said to explain the difference between the impact of coronavirus in Western and Eastern Europe, because universal policies of tuberculosis vaccination were widespread in countries of the former Soviet Union (BRSS).

East Germany countries, which were part of the USSR as East Germany until reunification in 1990, have the lowest number of COVID-19 cases for 100,000 people, according to the National Institute of Robert Koch report.

In Spain, the second largest death toll from coronavirus in the world -- only one region, the Bask country -- includes BCG vaccine in its official vaccination policy, according to local authorities.

Clinical Tests Begin in Australia

A team of Australian researchers announced on Friday that they have begun testing tuberculosis vaccine on a large scale to see if it can protect healthcare personnel from coronavirus.

About 4,000 Australian hospital employees will take part in clinical trials that will seek to determine whether tuberculosis vaccine can reduce COVID-19 symptoms, researchers at the Murdoch Institute in Melbourne reported.

“Although originally developed for tuberculosis and still manages for more than 130 million babies annually, BCG also enhances the body's basic immunity capacity, helping it respond more strongly to the germs”, researchers said in a statement.

“Hopefully to see a decrease in the frequency and severity of COVID-19 symptoms in health care workers vaccinated with BCG”, explained research team head Nigel Curtis.

Similar tests will be conducted in other countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

If it can prove that clinical trials are successful, elderly and other people who are vulnerable to COVIID-19 because of basic conditions may receive the tuberculosis vaccine to cope with the future coronavius explosions.

A German study has suggested that, in that case, tuberculosis vaccine can help buy “to buy a time” until a specially effective vaccine against coronavirus is developed.

A vaccine from a century ago

According to the Euronews script, Telegrafi traces, French scientists began developing the BCG vaccine in 1908, and the first human trials began in 1921.

The name BCG, Bacillus Calmette-Guer, comes from the names of two bacteria involved: Albert Calmette and Camille Guerre.

Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that attack the lungs. People contract it by being in close contact with an infected person after sneezing or coughing.

The disease became especially common after World War II and the use of medicine spread during the 1950 ' s when large hospitals specialised to treat tuberculosis patients were created.

Tuberculosis, or BCG, is very effective and despite its preventable and treatable disease, every year 10 million people are infected and 1.5 million people die from it, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

O The BSH also says tuberculosis is the main cause of death for people with HIV and a major contributor to anticommercial resistance.

However, doctors taking the test in Australia urge the general population not to think that this vaccine will be given before clinical trials are recognized.

The medicine is needed to vaccinate or treat 130 million people each year, and high demand would pressure limited stocks.