Immunology and Allergology >>>> Immunization: active and passive immunity

Immunization: active and passive immunity.

The immune system, donated to a person by evolution or formed in him during his life, is not always able to withstand the attacks of harmful microorganisms. In such emergency cases, the science of immunology comes to the rescue, which over the years of its existence has made many important discoveries and has significantly advanced humanity towards the possibilities of survival in spite of the conditions created by nature for the rivalry of living organisms for a place in the sun.

One of these opportunities was immunization, that is, the creation of artificial conditions for the body's resistance to infections - the creation of artificial immunity. Immunization is a tool for combating infectious diseases that are deadly not only for one person, but for humanity as a whole, and has the goal of eliminating infection (especially prone to epidemics), as well as preventing it.

The artificial immunity created in the framework of immunization is formed as passive or active. Passive immunity occurs in a person without the participation of agents of his own immune system and depends on the work of antibodies introduced into the body of an infected person as part of immune sera. Such immunity develops very quickly (within a few hours) and lasts until the antibodies injected with the serum disintegrate.

Passive immunity is formed in cases when it comes to obtaining instant results of treatment in conditions of a delay in the response of the patient's immune system or in situations when a person does not develop their own antibodies to a certain pathogen that has entered the body.

Active immunity is formed by the immune system of the person himself due to the activation of immune agents, but on condition that a weakened or previously killed pathogen introduced into the vaccine enters the body. This type of immunity is developed for a longer period, but it lasts from several months to several years. The creation of active artificial immunity is necessary for the prevention of some infectious diseases by creating artificial conditions for the disease and its mild course.