The smallpox vaccine, developed by British doctor Edward Jenner, was the first to be used on a large scale. Thanks to mass vaccinations, it was possible to completely eliminate this disease. Nearly one hundred years after E. Jenner, Louis Pasteur invented the rabies vaccine. Over time, more and more vaccines began to appear. The last 20 - 30 years have brought the most discoveries in this field.
Vaccinescontain antigens or parts of antigens that are not strong enough to cause disease, but stimulate our immune system to immunize against the disease - the body becomes resistant to infection with a specific ( one or more) pathogenic microorganisms. The main component ofof the vaccineis an active ingredient consisting of one or more antigens.
What exactly is a vaccine?
A person is born equipped with a natural immune system to fight bacterial and viral infections. When their antigens enter the body, the immune system makes antibodies to fight them. Our immune system can "remember" antigens and defend against them in the future. Vaccines use this mechanism. The antigen contained in a vaccine can take many forms, such as :
- live microbes,
- microbes killed,
- purified fragments of microbial cells,
- products of bacterial metabolism,
- recombinant antigens obtained by genetic engineering.
Additionally, the vaccine may contain: auxiliary substances, ensuring the stability of the preparation, preservatives, protecting the vaccine against contamination with microorganisms, substances enhancing and accelerating the immune response, trace amounts of substances used during the vaccine production process, etc.
Types of vaccines
- monovalent - containing one species of microorganism or antigens of one type of microorganism, protect against only one disease (e.g. tetanus vaccine),
- polyvalent - containing several subtypes of the same microorganism, also protecting against one disease (e.g. vaccine againstflu),
- combination - immunize against several diseases (e.g. DTP - combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, 6-component vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Hib and hepatitis B, combined vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella).
Introduced into the body, the antigen from the vaccine stimulates the cells of the immune system to produce specific antibodies, similar to what happens when, beyond any control, a pathogenic microorganism attacks us. There are also immune memory cells, thanks to which the vaccination effect may last longer and the next contact with the antigen will immediately trigger a response of the immune system - antibodies will prevent the development of the disease.
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