IMMUNOLOGY EXAM PRACTICE ERRORS Flashcards
suggest why some patients with severe symptoms of cholera are given antibiotic tablets, but antibiotics alone are not a cure for the disease
Antibiotics will pass through the gut before all bacteria are killed
V.cholerae is gram-negative and some antibiotics are not effective or less effective on it
Antibiotics might kill the bacteria but the toxins it releases might remain
antibiotic resistance
why are viruses difficult to treat with drugs and what are the challenges faced when trying to develop a vaccine against a virus
they are not cellular so they don’t have metabolic pathways
viruses enter the host cell so that they can avoid recognition by the host immune system
drugs might damage the host cells
antigenic variations might occur due to mutations, so it’s hard to develop vaccines for it
two features of a successful vaccine
mus be safe
must be effective
zika is an RNA virus. what are the advantages and disadvantages of
1. using an injection containing anti-zika antibodies to treat the virus
2. using a vaccine to confer immunity against the virus
Advantages
1. Antibodies would act quicker and confer immediate protection
- Herd immunity
- the production of memory b cells
- more effective in the longterm
Disadvantages
1. no long-term immunity as no memory cells will be produced
- would take longer to act
Antibiotic that prevents bacterial growth
Bacteriostatic
Describe how the spread of cholera could have been prevented following the earthquake in Haiti
Maintaining good hygiene
Vaccines could have been used to prevent the spread
The provision of safe drinking water for the victims
Explain why penicillin is infective in treating cholera(3 marks)
Penicillin prevents the formation of peptidoglycan in the cell wall of V.cholerae
V.cholerae is gram negative
So it’s thick layer of lipoproteins and lipopolysaccharides protects it from penicillin action
