Treating, curing and preventing disease - AQAVaccinations
Some diseases can be treated with antibiotics. Vaccinations allow protection against specific diseases, but the level of protection depends on the amount of people vaccinated.
pathogenMicroorganism that causes disease. are microbes that cause diseaseIllness affecting plants and animals.. vaccineSubstances containing disabled antigens of a particular disease, usually administered via injection. Vaccines stimulate the body to produce antibodies to provide immunity against that disease. allow a dead or altered form of the disease causing pathogen to be introduced into the body, which contain a specific antigenA protein on the surface of a substance (often a pathogen) that triggers an immune response.. This causes the immune system, specifically the white blood cellA type of cell found in blood that defends against infection., to produce complementary antibodyA protein produced by the immune system in humans (and other animals) that attacks foreign organisms (antigens) that get into the body., which target and attach to the antigen. When a white blood cell engulfs and digests a pathogen it is called phagocytosis.
During the primary infection The first time an organism becomes infected by a particular pathogen. the antibodies slowly increase, peak at around ten days and then gradually decrease. A second exposure to the same pathogen causes the white blood cells to respond quickly in order to produce lots of the relevant antibodies, which prevents infection.