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lundi 29 décembre 2014

How Vaccine Formulation Development Assists In Infection Elimination

By Stacey Burt


Medicine is a constantly advancing field of activity, and new medications and surgical procedures are sometimes highly unpredictable, or where they succeed, immensely impressive. Most of the time, patients treated using modern medicine are happy with the outcome. Be that as it may, there are still those conditions which cannot be effectively treated, and many of these are caused by infectious elements known as viruses. The modern response to viral infection and transmission is to develop a suitable medication, through vaccine formulation development.

People may think that an ordinary antibiotic can kill a virus, but it isn't able to, since a virus is not like bacteria, in that it is non-biotic (i. E. It is not a living organism). Since it is a microscopic entity, it cannot be removed surgically or destroyed using other techniques. The only effective treatment is the use of a vaccine.

A vaccine partially imitates the virus in the patient's body, so that the person's immune system starts to manufacture viral antibodies. The body does this in response to the detected threat of the pseudo-virus (the vaccine).

Viral antibodies are the body's natural defence against viruses. They are particles manufactured by the immune system which destroy viral particles. Only the human body has the ability to manufacture antibodies, and once they are present, the person can never be infected by that same virus again. Successful vaccination therefore enables the body to develop permanent resistance to a virus.

This permanent resistance is the reason why young kids are vaccinated against certain obvious, common diseases, such as polio or measles. Once immunized, people remain safe fort he rest of their lives, since the antibodies are always present. Even extremely mundane, seemingly innocuous illnesses, such as smallpox, were immense threats to public health in the past and the introduction of effective vaccines was the main step in removing them from society.

Some very serious illnesses are caused by viruses, such as AIDS, Ebola, one of the two forms of meningitis, and, as mentioned previously, polio. All of these illnesses can cause permanent negative outcomes or even death. Trying to develop a vaccine to treat them is therefore an important activity in modern medicine, and one which sometimes enjoys attention in the media.

Once a vaccine has been formulated, however, the same virus may yet become a problem in the future. This occurs through the natural process of genetic mutation, during the reproduction of the virus. Viruses do this constantly, and so they may turn into a new form or strain, one which is not affected by the patient's antibodies. This sounds terrifying, but it is common. A prime example if the flu virus, which takes on a new strain every year, and so no vaccine has been developed for it. The common cold does the same. No pharmacological intervention lasts more than one season against these viruses, and immunization is therefore not a long-term solution to them.

But despite the possibility or existence of vaccines, people should still respect their health. The maintenance of a responsible lifestyle is important. Some diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, are entirely preventable through sound health practices. In fact, for some viruses there is no vaccine, and dependence on a medical cure is not advisable or even possible.




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