immunization
Chapter: 9b
Immunization is a deliberate attempt to protect against a specific disease by innoculation of the respective microbe into the human or animal to be protected. The Chinese apparently immunized against smallpox by innoculation from the skin pox of a surviving patient as early as the 6th century. However, it was Edward Jenner in 1796 who conducted the first scientific experiments with cowpox, in order to confer protection against smallpox. This use of a similar virus, or attenuated virus, was a new innovation. It is now routine to use dead or attenuated organisms to immunize humans or animals. Cloned proteins may even be used, as with the current Hepatitis B vaccine. Indeed, live attenuated preparations are now considered somewhat dangerous, because of increasing numbers of immunocompromised people who might acquire overwhelming infection, even with an attenuated vaccine strain of the organism. However, live vaccines generally give excellent immunity, may infect other hosts, thus giving rise to herd immunity, and have allowed the complete elimination of one disease, smallpox, from the face of the earth. Eradication of other diseases may be possible via worldwide immunization efforts. References
- MMWR 43 (RR1), 1994. CDC General Recommendations on Immunization.
- MMWR 42 (RR4), 1993. Use of vaccines and immune globulins in persons with altered immunocompetence.
- MMWR 44(RR5), 1995. CDC Recommended Childhood Immunization Schedule, United States, 1995.
- Plotkin, S, and Mortimer, S. Vaccines. 2nd Edition, Saunders, 1995. A recent text discussing all available and experimental vaccines, plus an excellent history of vaccination.