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NUNAVUT
Sanofi Pasteur announced it has decided to temporarily suspend manufacturing tuberculosis vaccine to renovate its production facility, according to a company statement.

This means the Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine, which prevents serious forms of tuberculosis, will not be available until late 2013, stated Sanofi Pasteur.

The company had issued a nationwide recall of its BCG vaccine on June 15. Health Canada believes problems at Sanofi Pasteur's manufacturing plant in the Toronto area may have affected vaccine quality. The recalled vaccine had been in circulation in Nunavut since July 2011.

Any symptoms babies may have had from the vaccine related to the manufacturing problem would likely be mild and would have occurred within a few days of receiving it, Nunavut's deputy chief medical officer Dr. Maureen Baikie had told Nunavut News/North previously.

Baikie had said the territory's BCG vaccination program is suspended as of June 15 until further notice. She had said the department doesn't believe suspending the program will create adverse outcomes.

Baikie said on June 28 the Public Health Agency of Canada is looking worldwide for another vaccine supplier.

"I haven't heard a firm date about when we will have a new supply so we're following the situation closely," she said.

She added the territory deals with TB in many other ways, including active-case finding, and tracing anyone who might have been in contact with an infected person.

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