Vaccination Flashcards
Explain how vaccine prevents infection:
A small amount of dead or inactive forms of pathogen in injected into your body
White blood cells produce antibodies to destroy pathogen
If the same pathogen enters your body, white blood cells (memory cells) can produce antibodies very quickly preventing infection.
Define herd immunity:
A large proportion is immune to a disease, spread of pathogen in the population is reduced.
Why cannot antibiotics fully treat infections?
antibiotics cannot treat viruses as they reproduce inside cells so it is difficult to treat without damaging the the cells
Why is it more difficult to treat bacterial infection?
Strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are evolving.
Who discovered Penicillin?
Fleming
What are drugs tested for?
toxicity, efficacy and dosage
What is preclinical testing?
Testing on cells, tissues and live animals
What happens in clinical trials?
healthy volunteers and patients are given the drug at low dosage to test for side effects
What happens if the drug is tested safe?
bigger clinical trial take place to test for optimum dosage
What are double blind trials?
Neither the doctor nor the patient knows who has recieved the placebo or the real drug.
What is a placebo?
a dummy drug used in double blind trials
Why is peer review important?
- prevent false claims
What is peer review?
scientists review scientific research produced by other scientists
