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In a situation with herd immunity to the target disease, the non-specific effects can be more important for overall health than the specific vaccine effects. [3] The non-specific effects should not be confused with the side effects of vaccines (such as local reactions at the site of vaccination or general reactions such as fever, head ache or ...
Complement proteins are proteins that play a role in the non-specific immune responses alongside these non-specific immune cells to make up the first line of immune defense. [4] The non-specific immune response is an immediate antigen-independent response, however it is not antigen-specific. Non-specific immunity results in no immunologic memory.
A representation of the cholera epidemic of the 19th century. For thousands of years mankind has been intrigued with the causes of disease and the concept of immunity. The prehistoric view was that disease was caused by supernatural forces, and that illness was a form of theurgic punishment for "bad deeds" or "evil thoughts" visited upon the soul by the gods or by one's enemies. [8]
Apnea is when the child stops breathing momentarily. Approximately half of the infants, younger than one year of age, who get the disease are hospitalized. 1 in 4 get pneumonia; 1 or 2 in 100 will have convulsions (violent, uncontrolled shaking) 2/3 will have apnea; 1 in 300 will have encephalopathy (disease of the brain) 1 or 2 in 100 will die
The epithelial surfaces form a physical barrier that is impermeable to most infectious agents, acting as the first line of defense against invading organisms. [3] Desquamation (shedding) of skin epithelium also helps remove bacteria and other infectious agents that have adhered to the epithelial surface.
Disease prevention relies on anticipatory actions that can be categorized as primal, [2] [3] primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. [1] Each year, millions of people die of preventable causes. A 2004 study showed that about half of all deaths in the United States in 2000 were due to preventable behaviors and exposures. [4]
In health care, the main technique of artificial induction of immunity is vaccination, [1] which is a major form of prevention of disease, whether by prevention of infection (pathogen fails to mount sufficient reproduction in the host), prevention of severe disease (infection still happens but is not severe), or both.
From this equation, it can be observed that if E is less than (1 − 1/R 0), then it is impossible to eliminate a disease, even if the entire population is vaccinated. [2] Similarly, waning vaccine-induced immunity, as occurs with acellular pertussis vaccines , requires higher levels of booster vaccination to sustain herd immunity.