1. These vaccines are effective against pneumonia as well as meningitis and sepsis.
2. Dependence on antibiotics that are not effective against drug-resistant bacteria can be reduced.
3. These vaccines have no side effects and cause no allergic reactions.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Ans: b
Explanation:
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a specific disease. It typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe. The agent stimulates the body’s immune system to recognize the agent 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.
vaccines are administered prior to infection. Their role is to prime the immune system to fight any future infections, so that they can be brought under control before the disease-causing microorganism have had a chance to multiply.
Vaccines are of different types – killed Vaccines , attenuated Vaccines , toxoid Vaccines, subunit Vaccines, Conjugate Vaccines, experimental Vaccines , Valence Vaccines
| Conjugate VaccinesCertain bacteria have polysaccharide outer coats that are poorly immunogenic. By linking these outer coats to proteins (such as toxins), the immune system can be led to recognize the polysaccharide as if it were a protein antigen. Conjugate vaccines are better suitable where the polysaccharide outer coats of bacteria are poorly immunogenic. |
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine can prevent pneumococcal disease.
Pneumococcal disease refers to any illness caused by pneumococcal bacteria.
- These bacteria can cause many types of illnesses, including pneumonia, which is an infection of the lungs.
- Pneumococcal bacteria are one of the most common causes of pneumonia.
- Besides pneumonia, pneumococcal bacteria can also cause: Ear infections Sinus infections Meningitis (infection of the tissue covering the brain and spinal cord) Bacteremia (infection of the blood), Sepsis (a life-threatening reaction to an infection, Infection prevention is the only way to prevent sepsis)
An important way to reduce the risk of contracting infections is by receiving vaccinations that target certain illnesses.
Most pneumococcal infections are mild. However, some can result in long-term problems, such as brain damage or hearing loss. Meningitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia caused by pneumococcal disease can be fatal.
| Sepsis is a life-threatening medical emergency caused by your body’s overwhelming response to an infection. Without urgent treatment, it can lead to tissue damage, organ failure and death.Bacterial infections are one of the most common causes of sepsis. Fungal, parasitic and viral infections are also potential sepsis causes. |
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
Risks of Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine reaction – Redness, swelling, pain, or tenderness where the shot is given, and fever, loss of appetite, fussiness (irritability), feeling tired, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, and chills can happen after pneumococcal conjugate vaccination.
Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
Vaccines for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.
vaccines are administered prior to infection. Their role is to prime the immune system to fight any future infections, so that they can be brought under control before the bacteria have had a chance to multiply.
Vaccination can help to combat overuse by preventing infections that would otherwise require antibiotic treatment and help curb the spread of resistant strains.
Vaccines are an essential tool as part of a holistic response to reduce AMR. They prevent both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant infections, reduce the use and overuse of antimicrobials, and slow the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
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