Nursing HDP301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Gastrointestinal Tract, Fetus, Antivenom
16 Nov 2016
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Active immunity: efficacy increases over time, antigen based. Most of the damage to cells during infections occurs very early, often before the clinical symptoms of disease appear. Which is why when individuals come to a clinic, a physician avoids medicating because of the likelihood that the infection had already passed. Results when exposure to a disease organism triggers the immune system to produce antibodies to that disease. Exposure to the disease organism can occur through infection with the actual disease (resulting in natural immunity), or introduction of a killed or weakened form of the disease organism through vaccination (vaccine-induced immunity). Either way, if an immune person comes into contact with that disease in the future, their immune system will recognize it and immediately produce the antibodies needed to fight it. Active immunity is long-lasting, and sometimes life-long. Passive immunity: efficacy decreases over time, antibody based.
