Vaccines

1. In general, describe how vaccines work.

2. Describe the differences between
Preventing Infectious Diseases attenuated, and inactivated vaccinations.
Vaccines 3. Define the term “Herd Immunity” and
explain why this is an important concept
in protecting public health.
4. Weight the risks of vaccinations for the
individual against the benefits of
vaccinations for society.

The human
body has many
Natural Barriers to Infection natural barriers
to infection

• barriers that separate the outside world

from our inner tissues
– skin, mucous, hair, urine
– tears, skin oils, acid in the stomach
– Normal flora

The innate immune system

• General response to damage or infections
• Protection by several mechanisms
– Consumes pathogens
– Inflammation
– Fever

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 Inflammation
Normal blood flow to skin

Skin is punctured

Bacteria enter wound

White blood cells travel

to wound and exit blood
vessels

White blood cells accumulate at wound and kill bacteria.

Dead white blood cells + damaged tissue = puss

Fever The adaptive immune system

• Indicator of infection
• Normal temp 37*C – regulated in the brain
• During infection, immune system “sets” the
body’s temp higher
• Fever inhibits the growth of the pathogen
– Increasing temp above optimum for pathogen
– Increasing activity of the immune system.
• The body’s specific response to pathogens
• Develops throughout life
• Distinguishes between “healthy” and
“dangerous” cells
• Includes the body’s “memory” of an
infection

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The immune system is a coordinated response in
infectious agents
It involves several types of cells

• Antigen – the material that causes immune

response
– Bacteria, viruses
– Pollens, allergens
• Antibodies – proteins that bind to antigens
so they can be identified by the immune
system

Antibiodies
• This helps the immune system identify the
“bad” or foreign pathogen

• Antibodies form after a first exposure to

the antigen

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• Antibodies can stay in the body for a long • What is a vaccine?
time
• This is the body’s “memory” for disease
• Natural immunity – occurs after you have
had a disease
– examples
• Acquired immunity – occurs after a
vaccination
– examples

Vaccination
• Deliberately stimulating the immune
system to protect individuals against a
disease

• 960-1280, China, first records of

“variolation” against smallpox

• 1796, Edward Jenner, used cowpox for

vaccination against smallpox

Types of Vaccines Types of Vaccines

• Attenuated – the virus or bacterium is
weakened enough to not cause disease
– Measles, mumps, rubella, polio
– Long-term protection
– Can sometimes revert to a pathogenic strain
(rare)
– Can sometimes cause disease in immune
compromised patients
– Should not be given to pregnant women
• Inactivated – microbe or virus can not
replicate, and cannot cause disease
• Pathogen is killed
• Only a part of the pathogen (surface proteins)
• Toxoid – inactivated toxin (tetanus)
– Influenza, Hepatitis B, Rabies, Tetanus
– Cannot cause infections
– Limited immune response – requires booster
shots

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 Review Vaccines
• With your group compare and contrast
inactivated and attenuated vaccines

Recommended immunizations
Vaccines

Table 17.4

Effectiveness of immunizations in protecting public Herd Immunity

health
• Population wide vaccination campaigns
work because of Herd Immunity

• A phenomenon that occurs when a critical

concentration of immune hosts prevents
the spread of an infectious disease.

• The disease is unable to spread because

there is a shortage of susceptible hosts

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 Herd Immunity • Vaccinations are important in developing
Red = infected or infectious, Blue = susceptible, Yellow = immune
Which shows herd immunity, (a) or (b)?
herd immunity.

B
• What will happen if people stop becoming
vaccinated?

What happens in
each population if
person B has HIV
and can not be
immunized to the
disease?

Vaccination Risks Essay Question for Exam

• What are some of the risks of vaccinations?
• Do you think that vaccinations should be
required by state law for school-aged children?
• There is now a vaccine that will protect women
against infection with some strains of HPV, a
sexually transmitted disease that can cause
cancer. The CDC recommends that the vaccine
be given to girls starting around age 11. Some
state have passes legislation that requires girls
to be vaccinated to attend school. Do you agree
or disagree with this law? Explain using
evidence why or why not.

Vaccination Risks Vaccines

Risk vary by vaccination The reported cases of adverse reactions to vaccines now
• In General outnumbers the number of cases of vaccine-preventable
diseases in children.
– Possibility for allergic reaction to the vaccine
– Reaction could include seizures, brain damage or
Does this mean that vaccines are dangerous? Explain.
death in rare cases
• People should discuss the risks and benefits of
any vaccine with their physician “The risk of the disease itself is substantially more serious
• More info at than the risk of the immunization. “
http://www.cdc.gov/node.do/id/0900f3ec8000ea http://www.immunize-utah.org/public/vpdci_risks.htm
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