Lecture 5 2/6/24 Flashcards
What factors impact whether or not an animal is resistant to infection?
-genetics
-endocrine
-age
-other factors
How does genetics play a role in resistance to infection?
related but different species can have slightly different genes that make them more (or less) resistant
How do corticosteroids impact viral immunity?
they are immunosuppressive
Why are pregnant animals often immunosuppressed?
due to the hormones that maintain pregnancy
How can nutrition play a role in viral immunity?
affects:
-mucous membrane and skin integrity
-phagocytes
-immune response
What affects can obesity have that impact immune response?
-pro-inflammatory
-immunosuppressive
How do polymicrobial infections impact viral immunity?
-deplete immune resources
-skew immune response
-alter pathology
Why are elderly animals more prone to infection?
-waning adaptive immunity
-innate immunity in higher gear, leading to more inflammatory responses
Why are young animals more prone to infection?
-immature immune systems
-B and T cells that function less optimally
-lack protective Ab titers
-some cell types are more susceptible at a younger age
How does colostrum protect a neonate?
-vaccinating mother leads to secretion of IgA into colostrum
-gut absorption of IgA leads to some level of protection
Why can maternal antibodies be a problem?
-interfere with vaccination and reduce vaccine efficacy
-prevent vaccination from mounting a memorable immune response
What is the window of susceptibility?
time at which maternal antibody level is no longer sufficient at protecting from infection, but is still high enough to prevent a protective vaccine response
What is the purpose of “boosting” a vaccine?
intent is to increase coverage of infant animals that may be in or out of the window of susceptibility, since we do not know exactly when the window is
Why is an antibody titer not always representative of a young animal’s actual immune status?
maternal antibodies can be picked up on a titer and cannot be differentiated from the animal’s own immune response
What are toll-like receptors?
pattern recognition receptors that recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns