Is Tuberculosis similar in one medical field and the other? The trajectory of the BCG vaccine in France, 1900-1954.
This article presents the trajectory of the BCG vaccine, used against bovine and human tuberculosis, in France, from the beginning of the 20 th century to the end of the 1950’s. It reveals how Camille Guerin, one of the vaccine co-discoverer, put his knowledge of veterinary epistemology to a decisive use toward the vaccine development, its application in veterinary medicine, and the double-legitimization process that was set up against the vaccine opponents. It also reveals the underlying reasons behind the abandon of vaccination as part of bovine tuberculosis prophylaxis, justified not by any scientific arguments, but rather by the Institut Pasteur own strategic goals concerning its post-war research and production policy.
Bull.soc.fr.hist.méd.sci.vét., 2017, 17 : 21-45