Final > Disease Control: Vaccines Flashcards
What is meant by the term “variolation”?
Inoculation of smallpox into the skin.
Who coined the term “vaccination”? Why?
Pasteur. Because cowpox was being used against smallpox and vacca = cow (latin?).
What is the definition of a vaccine?
A suspension of organisms or fractions of organisms that induce immunity.
What occurs physiologically in response to a vaccine being administered?
A primary immune response which leads to the formation of antibodies and memory cells (IgM and IgG).
If a person is vaccinated, what occurs upon exposure to the real disease?
A rapid, intense secondary immune response (mainly igG) which shuts that shit right down.
What is herd immunity?
A prevention strategy in which a certain level of vaccination is enough to provide protection for the whole population.
What are the 3 main characteristics of a live attenuated vaccine?
- Weakened pathogen
- Mimics an actual infection
- Lifelong cellular/humoral immunity
What are the 3 main characteristics of an inactivated killed vaccine?
- Safer than live vaccines
- Requires booster doses
- Mostly humoral immunity
What differentiates humoral immunity from cellular immunity?
Humoral: T cells produce antibodies
Cellular: T cells induce host cell apoptosis
What is a subunit vaccine?
One which uses antigenic fragments to stimulate an immune response.
What are the 3 types of subunit vaccine?
- Recombinant vaccines
- Virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines
- Toxoids
What is a recombinant vaccine?
A subunit vaccine produced by genetic modification.
What is a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine?
A subunit vaccine which contains a particle that resembles an intact virus but contains no viral genetic material.
What is a toxoid?
A subunit vaccine that contains an inactivated toxin.
What is an antitoxin?
A type of toxoid (a subset of subunit vaccines) which contains antibodies against a toxin and can confer short-term inmmunity.
What is a conjugated vaccine?
Combines a weak antigen with a strong antigen as a carrier for when you want to elicit a strong response to a weak antigen.
When would it be beneficial to use a conjugated vaccine?
When the subject’s immune system normally responds poorly to the weak antigen in the vaccine.
What is a nucleic acid (DNA) vaccine?
Naked DNA which is injected into the subject and produces the protein antigen encoded on the DNA.
What is an adjuvant in terms of vaccines? What is the only approved one in the US?
A chemical additive added to a vaccine to improve effectiveness. Only Alum is approved for use.
In Canada, is vaccination under provincial or federal jurisdiction?
Provincial, just like everything else healthcare-related.
Do all provinces mandate the same vaccines on the same schedule?
Of course not. Get the provinces to agree on something? Outrageous.
What are some components of the Infanrix Hexavalent (DTap, IPV, Hib) vaccine?
- Diptheria toxoid
- Tetanus toxoid
- Pertussis toxin (detoxified)
- Hep B antigen
- Inactivated poliovirus (types 1, 2, and 3)
- Polysaccharide Hib
- Lactose
- NaCl
- AlPO₄ aluminum adjuvant
Compared with other medicines, what reduces the inclination for drug companies to produce new vaccines?
They are less profitable than other medicines. There’s way less value in something they can only sell once I guess…
What are some ways in which the development of new vaccines might change in the future?
- Develop without using animals
- Use plants as a source
- More oral vaccines
- Vaccines for chronic diseases
What is meant by “reverse vaccinology”?
Developing cellular immunity via bioinformatics by screening the genome of an organism for genes that produce proteins which would be good vaccine targets.
What are some inherent biological challenges to vaccine development?
- Viruses/bacteria evolve at varying rates
- Rapid evolution of new serovars and serotypes present a “moving target” for vaccine developers (ex: influenza virus).
What is a Nanopatch in terms of vaccination technologies? Why might it be advantageous?
A patch applied to the skin which delivers a dry formulation of the vaccine. Requires no refrigeration and doesn’t scare people the way needles do.
Why is a multiple-combination vaccine advantageous?
So that people only have to get pricked once (or twice…) and not a ton of times.
Can vaccines cause disease?
On rare occasions if improperly prepared. But there is no proof to suggest vaccines being linked to other neurological disorders.
