What is a vaccine
The immunity of a subject towards a pathogen can be artificially induced by active immunization (vaccination).
How it works
To learn more: How Vaccines Work
The administered product (vaccine) induces in the host (the subject or the vaccinated animal) an immune response that will protect it from the attack of the pathogen to which it has been vaccinated.
The immune response induced by the vaccine can be humoral, that is characterized by the production of antibodies (immunoglobulins IgM IgG, IgA and IgE) by B lymphocytes and plasma cells, or cell-mediated, that is to say by T lymphocytes that act by destroying the infectious agents through different mechanisms.
Since vaccination actively stimulates the animal's immune system, it takes a certain amount of time (from two to four weeks) for the antibody response to reach a level that makes the subject immune to contact with the pathogen in question.
Insights on Vaccinations
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H1N1 swine flu vaccinationHepatitis vaccination Varicella AVaccination Tuberculosis vaccineColera vaccinationAmbirix: Hepatitis A and BTwinrix vaccine Adults: hepatitis A vaccine and hepatitis B Celvapan: influenza vaccine AFocetria: H1N1 influenza vaccineVaccination vaccineHepatitis Vaccination HPV vaccination Vaccination HPV in ItalyTwinical pediatric vaccine against hepatitis A and hepatitis B Fendrix: hepatitis BHBVAXPRO vaccine: hepatitis B vaccineTypes of vaccine
History of Vaccines
The first vaccine, used about 200 years ago by the English doctor Edward Jenner to prevent human smallpox, was made up of a viral jamb (type, strain) derived from the lesions that the cowpox virus ( Cowpoxvirus ) caused on the hands of the milkers and which for this reason it was called Vaccinia virus (from the Latin vaccinus : of cow, from which the term "vaccination" was derived).
In the following two centuries, this vaccine played a fundamental role in controlling the disease, ultimately allowing the eradication of smallpox worldwide.
To learn more: Vaccines: History and Discovery of Vaccines
Classification of Vaccines
The vaccines currently available on the market for the prevention of infectious animal diseases are many and can be classified according to their characteristics which depend on the preparation techniques. More precisely, the following types are mainly distinguished:
attenuated (live-modified), inactivated (killed or extinguished), purified consisting of subunits (eg parts of the causative agent or toxins produced by it).
Attenuated vaccines
Live attenuated (live-modified) vaccines are made up of complete microorganisms (bacteria or viruses) whose pathogenic power has been decreased or eliminated with different treatments and procedures, for which they induce a very mild infection without causing disease. These vaccines generally have few antigens and almost never cause local vaccine reactions, but they must replicate in the host to allow an immune response.
Inactivated vaccines
Inactivated vaccines include bacteria or viruses that have completely eliminated the ability to give disease through their physical or chemical inactivation.
In general, dull vaccines require a higher antibody mass than live-modified vaccines to stimulate an immune response, since they do not replicate in the host.
The extinguished vaccines stimulate minor immune responses compared to the attenuated vaccines and for this reason they are often associated with adjuvants (substances that increase the immunogenicity, or the immune response of the animal) and generally require repeated administrations to give adequate protection .
