Germs
are all around us, both in our environment and in our bodies. When a person is
susceptible and they encounter a harmful organism, it can lead to disease and
death.
The
body has many ways of defending itself against pathogens (disease-causing
organisms). Skin, mucus, and cilia (microscopic hairs that move debris away
from the lungs) all work as physical barriers to prevent pathogens from
entering the body in the first place.
When a pathogen does infect the body, our body’s defences, called the immune system, are triggered and the pathogen is attacked and destroyed or overcome.
The
body's natural response
A
pathogen is a bacterium, virus, parasite or fungus that can cause disease
within the body. Each pathogen is made up of several subparts, usually unique
to that specific pathogen and the disease it causes. The subpart of a pathogen
that causes the formation of antibodies is called an antigen. The antibodies
produced in response to the pathogen’s antigen are an important part of the
immune system. You can consider antibodies as the soldiers in your body’s
defense system. Each antibody, or soldier, in our system is trained to
recognize one specific antigen. We have thousands of different antibodies in
our bodies. When the human body is exposed to an antigen for the first time, it
takes time for the immune system to respond and produce antibodies specific to
that antigen.
Breast cancer and cervical cancer; Reason,Symptoms and much more by Expert
In
the meantime, the person is susceptible to becoming ill.
Once
the antigen-specific antibodies are produced, they work with the rest of the
immune system to destroy the pathogen and stop the disease. Antibodies to one
pathogen generally don’t protect against another pathogen except when two
pathogens are very similar to each other, like cousins. Once the body produces
antibodies in its primary response to an antigen, it also creates
antibody-producing memory cells, which remain alive even after the pathogen is
defeated by the antibodies. If the body is exposed to the same pathogen more
than once, the antibody response is much faster and more effective than the
first time around because the memory cells are at the ready to pump out
antibodies against that antigen.
Vaccines
contain weakened or inactive parts of a particular organism (antigen) that
triggers an immune response within the body. Newer vaccines contain the
blueprint for producing antigens rather than the antigen itself. Regardless of
whether the vaccine is made up of the antigen itself or the blueprint so that
the body will produce the antigen, this weakened version will not cause the
disease in the person receiving the vaccine, but it will prompt their immune
system to respond much as it would have on its first reaction to the actual
pathogen.
Some
vaccines require multiple doses, given weeks or months apart. This is sometimes
needed to allow for the production of long-lived antibodies and development of
memory cells. In this way, the body is trained to fight the specific
disease-causing organism, building up memory of the pathogen so as to rapidly
fight it if and when exposed in the future.
Overweight or Obese, a major factor leading to many lifestyle diseases; Experts View
Herd
immunity
When
someone is vaccinated, they are very likely to be protected against the
targeted disease. But not everyone can be vaccinated. People with underlying
health conditions that weaken their immune systems (such as cancer or HIV) or
who have severe allergies to some vaccine components may not be able to get
vaccinated with certain vaccines. These people can still be protected if they
live in and amongst others who are vaccinated. When a lot of people in a
community are vaccinated the pathogen has a hard time circulating because most
of the people it encounters are immune. So the more that others are vaccinated,
the less likely people who are unable to be protected by vaccines are at risk
of even being exposed to the harmful pathogens. This is called herd immunity.
Vaccinating
not only protects yourself, but also protects those in the community who are
unable to be vaccinated. If you are able to, get vaccinated.
Throughout
history, humans have successfully developed vaccines for a number of
life-threatening diseases, including meningitis, tetanus, measles and wild
poliovirus.
In
the early 1900s, polio was a worldwide disease, paralysing hundreds of
thousands of people every year. By 1950, two effective vaccines against the
disease had been developed. But vaccination in some parts of the world was
still not common enough to stop the spread of polio, particularly in Africa. In
the 1980s, a united worldwide effort to eradicate polio from the planet began.
Over many years and several decades, polio vaccination, using routine
immunization visits and mass vaccination campaigns, has taken place in all
continents. Millions of people, mostly children, have been vaccinated and in
August 2020, the African continent was certified wild poliovirus free, joining
all other parts of the world except Pakistan and Afghanistan, where polio has
not yet been eradicated.(Source WHO)
Post a Comment