Back to AI Flashcard MakerBiology /Biology IB HL - 11.1 Antibody Production Part 5
What is a vaccine?
A vaccine is a weakened or attenuated form of the pathogen that contains antigens but is incapable of triggering disease
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Key Terms
Term
Definition
What is a vaccine?
A vaccine is a weakened or attenuated form of the pathogen that contains antigens but is incapable of triggering disease
What may antigenic components of a vaccine be conjugated to?
The antigenic determinants in a vaccine may be conjugated to an adjuvant, which functions to boost the immune response
How does the body respond to a vaccine?
The body responds to an injected vaccine by initiating a primary immune response, which results in memory cells being made
After vaccination, what happens when the body is exposed to an actual pathogen?
When exposed to the actual pathogen, the memory cells trigger a more potent secondary immune response
What do vaccinations ultimately result in?
As a consequence of this more potent immune response, disease symptoms do not develop (individual is immune to pathogen)
How long do vaccinations allow an individual to be immune for?
The length of time a person is immune to infection following a vaccination depends on how long the memory cells survive for
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
What is a vaccine? | A vaccine is a weakened or attenuated form of the pathogen that contains antigens but is incapable of triggering disease |
What may antigenic components of a vaccine be conjugated to? | The antigenic determinants in a vaccine may be conjugated to an adjuvant, which functions to boost the immune response |
How does the body respond to a vaccine? | The body responds to an injected vaccine by initiating a primary immune response, which results in memory cells being made |
After vaccination, what happens when the body is exposed to an actual pathogen? | When exposed to the actual pathogen, the memory cells trigger a more potent secondary immune response |
What do vaccinations ultimately result in? | As a consequence of this more potent immune response, disease symptoms do not develop (individual is immune to pathogen) |
How long do vaccinations allow an individual to be immune for? | The length of time a person is immune to infection following a vaccination depends on how long the memory cells survive for |
Due to the varying lifespans of memory cells, what may be required? | Memory cells may not survive a lifetime and individuals may subsequently require a booster shot to maintain immunity |
Why are vaccination programs implemented? | Vaccinations programmes are implemented to reduce the outbreak of particular infectious diseases within populations |
What is an epidemic? | An epidemic is a substantially increased occurrence of a particular infection within a given region |
What is a pandemic? | A pandemic is an epidemic that has spread across a large geographical area (like a continent) |
Apart from immunity to an individual, what does vaccination provide? | Vaccination confers immunity to vaccinated individuals but also indirectly protects non-vaccinated individuals via herd immunity |
What is herd immunity? | Herd immunity is when individuals who are not immune to a pathogen are protected from exposure by the large amounts of immune individuals within the community |
What was smallpox and what is its significance? | Smallpox was the first infectious disease of humans to have been eradicated via vaccination |
When is a disease considered to be eliminated? | When a disease stops circulating in a region it is considered eliminated – if it is eliminated worldwide, it is considered eradicated |
When was smallpox targeted for eradication? | Smallpox was targeted for eradication in 1967 by the World Health Organisation (WHO), via a global vaccination programme |
When was the last case of smallpox and when was it declared eradicated? | The last known case of smallpox in a civilian was registered in 1977 and it was officially declared eradicated by WHO in 1980 |
Give 4 reasons why the eradication of smallpox was successful. | Smallpox was easily identifiable due to overt clinical symptoms, which helped to limit potential transmission; Transmission only occurred via direct contact and there were no animal vectors or reservoirs to sustain the infectious agent; The infection period was short-lived (3 – 4 weeks) and the virus was stable and didn’t mutate into alternate strains; There was global cooperation and immunity was long-term so repeated booster shots were unnecessary |
What have vaccination programs led to? How may they differ? | Vaccination programmes have lead to a reduction in the incidence of infectious diseases in a number of regions; Different nations will implement different vaccination practices depending on the regional pathogenic threats |
What is epidemiology? | Epidemiology is the study of the patterns, causes and effects of health and disease conditions in a defined population |
What is epidemiology used for | It can be used to compare the incidence of a disease over time (prior and following vaccination programme implementation); It can be used to compare the incidence of a disease in different regions (both with and without vaccination programmes) |
What 3 factors may influence disease rates? | Populations have increased year on year, which would be likely to increase the risk of potential outbreaks; Improvements to health care services, public sanitation and medical breakthroughs will also influence disease rates; Different regions may experience different levels of exposure to particular infections (due to climate and vector presence) |