U3: 23- Immunisation Flashcards
What name is given to the process by which a person develops immunity to a disease causing organism?
Immunisation
What name is given to the type of immunity whereby a person gains protection as a result of the body producing it’s own antibodies?
Active immunity
If a person survives an infection and is then exposed again at a later date to the same infection they are protected from it. What type of immunity have they gained?
Natural acquired immunity
When a person is vaccinated against a disease what has been introduced to the body?
A weakened form of the pathogen to act as an antigen and elicit an immune response
What is mixed with the antigen that will be administered as a vaccination?
An adjuvant
What is the purpose of an adjuvant?
To enhance the immune response
When a vaccination is introduced to the body what cells are produced by the body?
B-Lymphocytes, T-Lymphocytes and antibodies
Does a vaccination cause the disease?
No
Following vaccination what do some of the B-Lymphocytes and T-Lymphocytes remain behind as to initiate the secondary response if the person is exposed to the actual disease at a later date?
Memory cells
What type of immunity is granted by vaccines?
Artificial acquired immunity
What name is given to the form of protection whereby the non-immune minority are given indirect protection by the immune majority?
Herd immunity
Who does herd immunity provide protection for?
Vulnerable sub-groups of the population who must not be vaccinated because of a medical condition
What name is given to the percentage of immune individuals in a population above which a disease no longer manages to persist?
Herd immunity threshold
What three factors does the herd immunity threshold depend on?
The pathogen’s virulence, the vaccine’s effectiveness, the density of the population
Name three diseases where mass vaccination programmes have managed to establish herd immunity in the UK.
Tuberculosis, Polio, Smallpox
