Unit One Nature of the Immune Unit One Nature of the Immune System System I. Introduction and Historical I. Introduction and Historical ConceptsConcepts

Terry Kotrla, MS, MT(ASCP)BB

IntroductionIntroductionImmunology is a relatively new

field.Entire history recorded in the last

100 years.1960s cells of immune system

identified and characterized. Tests developed to detect

presence of immune substances in the blood.

What You Need To Know

Immunity Immunity Immunology defined as the study of

the reaction of a host when foreign substances are introduced into the body.

Antigen is the substance recognized as foreign to the body which causes an immune response.

Immunity is the condition of being resistant to infection.

Serology is the study of the non-cellular components (serum) in the blood.

Immunization/VaccinationImmunization/VaccinationPurposeful exposure of individual to infectious material to elicit immunity.

Early forms of vaccination were developed in ancient China as early as 200 B.C.

People inhaled powdered scabs from people infected with smallpox to protect against the disease.

Vaccination – Edward Vaccination – Edward JennerJennerSmallpox affected all levels of

society. Jenner noticed that milkmaids did

not generally get smallpox.Jenner theorized that the pus in

the blisters which milkmaids received from cowpox (a disease similar to smallpox, but much less virulent) protected the milkmaids from smallpox.

Vaccination – Edward Vaccination – Edward JennerJennerInoculated 8 yr old with material

from pus in cowpox blisters.Exposed boy to infectious agents

and no disease followed.Jenner's unique contribution was

not that he inoculated a few persons with cowpox, but that he then proved they were immune to smallpox.

Process called vaccination, from vacca, Latin for cow.

Ethical Smallpox IssueEthical Smallpox Issue

““Last Samples Of Last Samples Of Smallpox Pose a Smallpox Pose a Quandary”Quandary”This article was written before

9/11 but it is still a thought provoking article. http://tinyurl.com/26khtnt

What are your thoughts? Post them to the Discussion Board in BlackBoard.

VaccinationVaccinationA vaccine - biological preparation that

elicits immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine may be:

◦ Weakened forms of pathogens◦ Killed or inactivated forms of pathogens◦ Purified material such as proteins which are

similar to pathogens.Stimulates the body's immune system to

recognize the agent (antigen) as foreign, destroy it, and "remember" it, so that the immune system can more easily recognize and destroy any of these microorganisms that it later encounters.

Vaccination - TypesVaccination - TypesKilled microorganisms Attenuated – live organisms cultivated

to disable virulent propertiesToxoid - inactivated toxic compounds in

cases where these (rather than the micro-organism itself) cause illness

Subunit -fragments create an immune response

Conjugate-linking outer coats to proteins which can the lead immune system to recognize

RabiesRabies

RabiesRabiesA viral disease that causes acute

encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).It is zoometric (i.e., transmitted by

animals), most commonly by a bite from an infected animal but occasionally by other forms of contact.

The period between infection and the first flu-like symptoms is normally two to twelve weeks, but can be as long as two years.

Rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms.

RabiesRabiesLouis Pasteur applied the principle of

attenuation to a rabies vaccine.Developed a rabies virus that was

milder and had a shorter incubation (development) period than the wild virus.

A person bitten by a rabid animal would be inoculated with the Pasteur virus and rapidly develop immunity to the wild strain.

RabiesRabiesHe developed his rabies vaccine by

growing the virus in rabbits, then drying the affected nerve tissue (spinal cords) to weaken the virus.

On July 6, 1885, the vaccine was administered to a 9-year-old boy who had been attacked by a rabid dog.

The boy survived and avoided contracting rabies, which would have almost certainly proved fatal.

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/louis_pasteur.htm

End of Unit 1 Part 1End of Unit 1 Part 1