Treatment also known as artificial immunization, consists of inputting, orally, subcutaneously or intramuscularly, prepared antigens in order for the body to react, forming antibodies (defenses) against certain infectious diseases. The immune system can take a couple of weeks to respond after a vaccination. Most vaccines are used to prevent infections. But there are also others that help fight disease that are already present within the body. Debilitated or dead bacteria and viruses are mainly used to manufacture vaccines, and sometimes synthesized substances of these same agents are used.
There are vaccines known as alive or attenuated, which are the ones that use a debilitated form of the germ. This type of vaccine is used to prevent yellow fever, mumps, among others. The other type of vaccine is dead or inactive and is used with dead microorganisms. This vaccine is used to fight the flu, cholera, hepatitis A, among others. The most common vaccines and the ones that must be administered as an obligation during the first two years of life are the ones that protect us against nine diseases: diphtheria, tetanus, ferine cough, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis B and meningitis.
Types of artificial immunization
– Active immunization: a vaccine with dead or debilitated forms of a germ is injected in order to stimulate the immune system to generate antibodies that will remember the invading microorganism and destroy it if it happens to enter the body at some moment. It has a long-term effect and is used to prevent diseases like the measles, rubeola, poliomyelitis, among others.
– Passive immunization: this type of immunization is temporary (it barely lasts a few weeks or months) because the vaccine used contains antiserum (preparation of a serum extracted from a person or animal that has already developed immunity) or gammaglobulins (concentrated solution of antibodies or immune globulins).In this case, the antibodies remain within the body of the receiver during a while, staying protected against the invading disease, that can be hepatitis A or a bite of a rabid dog.
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