Chronic anterior uveitis following bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination: molecular mimicry in action?

A 13-year-old girl developed bilateral chronic anterior uveitis following bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination. HLA testing was negative for B27 but positive for DRB1 *0404, a variant of DR4 often associated with rheumatoid arthritis. The authors propose her HLA repertoire allowed for a BCG-induced abnormal autoimmune response by the mechanism of molecular mimicry.