Active Immunity Essay

In our text Focus on Pharmacology, the author defines Active immunity as “Active immunity is a form of acquired immunity that develops in an individual in response to an immunogen (antigen)”(Moini, 2012, pg. 114). When a foreign antigen is introduced into the body the body begins to produce antibodies to combat the antigen. Active immunity is produced actively by host’s immune system as a result of the stimulation by an antigen. With active immunity the antibodies attack a specific disease, for instance, if you are exposed to the measles the body produces antibodies that will attack the measles antigen, but that but that antibody will not work on mumps or even chickenpox. Active immunity enjoys immunological memory due to which the subsequent challenge (secondary response) in the host is more effective(Garg, 2016). This means the body will recognize the measles antigen and when exposed to measles again the body automatically produces the antibodies to fight the infection. This is called Natural Immunity, the introduction of a weakened or killed form of the disease is called vaccine-induced immunity. Active Immunity is long lasting and sometimes life long(CDC, 2017). …show more content…
114). This type of immunity is fast acting but does not last long. The body does not produce antibodies to fight the infection. A person must be given the antibodies for passive immunity. Newborn babies acquire passive immunity from the placenta, you can also acquire passive immunity from antibody-containing blood products such as immune globulin, which may be given when the antibodies are needed for immediate protection from a specific disease(CDC,