Effect of Immunities

Effect of Immunities

Immunities and Vaccines

Thesis Statement

“This paper aims to describe Immunity; types of immunities from infectious diseases, immunization list and characteristics of live Attenuated and Inactive Vaccines.”

Introduction

Immunity in lawman terms is the human body's resistance power to battle infections, biological invasions, pathogens, micro organisms, fungi or any other foreign intrusion. The human body is like a fortress and immunity is the patrolling defence which is responsible for taking caring of any harmful invasions. Immunization is the common practice of fortifying the human body against infectious diseases by two forms either active or passive. Vaccines come into action from here. Vaccines are of two major kinds Live Attenuated and Inactive.

Discussion

The evolutionary system has granted humans an immune system present within the body itself that fights a continuous battle with these external threats. The human immune system includes various parts like thymus, bone marrow, spleen, lymphoid tissues. They produce B-cells which in turn produce antibodies that after a period of time convert into memory cells. It is the B-cells produced from the bone-marrow whose job it is to remember any and all previously encountered and defeated intrusions. The memory imprint helps the body maintain a faster and quicker defence, if the same infection strikes again. There are two types of immunities; Active and Passive.

Active Immunity

It is the process in which the host body is exposed to an antigen which triggers the generation of an adaptive immune response to counter the threat. Active immunity results are usually delayed i.e. may take up a few day or weeks to develop and activate, in spite of the delayed reaction, the results are usually permanent, often lasting as long as the person lives. This is generally classified as an acquired or natural immunity. For example catching an externally inflicted infection: Hepatitis A, upon successful recovery from the said infection gives the necessary information to the cells, and a permanent protection is gained from the new and improved immune system. Subsequently if a person is administered with two doses of a vaccine of Hepatitis A, it triggers the same immune response leading to continuing and mostly life-long protection.

Passive immunity

It is the process of providing IgG antibodies against an infection which cures it, but the effects are usually not permanent. They last for variable time period ranging from a few weeks to some months. Just like its counterpart the active immunity, passive is also segmented into natural or acquired. When an unborn child is still in the foetus, the placenta acts as a connector between the mother's body and the baby's body, transferring maternal tetanus antibody (mainly IgG), hence, providing a natural passive immunity for the newborn upon its birth until such antibody is degraded and lost. On the other hand, acquired passive immunity is defined as the process of obtaining serum from immune individuals, amalgamating them, then concentrating the immunoglobulin fraction and lastly injecting it to protect a susceptible individual. In modern times, this treatment is done to counter disorders that are caused by ...