Why are vaccines important? Vaccines are a significant a way of controlling the spread of an infection in the body. By creating a factor that can help the body to fight an infection. Ultimately vaccines help to prolong life or to avoid serious after-effects of an infection even if we get through it.

Having an understanding of vaccines and how they work will allow us to make more informed decision about how we assess the use of vaccines. Knowing a little about the principles of vaccines will allow you to ask the right sort of questions. Vaccine production is also of significant commercial interest. There is a large amount of money invested in vaccines developments.

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News about vaccines. vaccines issues are frequently reported in the news. Here are some of the best sources of the latest news about vaccines. "The Australian" vaccine Fairfax News search: vaccine The ABC news; vaccine Yahoo!news search for vaccine     Tip: please bookmark or favourite this page for quick access to these handy sources

Some reliable and quality assured sources of general information about vaccines include: Australia: CRC for Vaccine Technology University of Melbourne: Vaccine strategies US: Understanding Vaccines from NIH Children's Hospital Philadelphia Vaccines Vaccines.org UK/Europe: How vaccines are made BBC article Antiviral vaccines: university of Leicester International WHO Vaccines, Immunisation World Conference on Vaccines

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How are vaccines classified, Types of vaccines? vaccines can be classified in various ways. Vaccines are usually defined by the kind of infection or condition they are targeting. For example vaccines against : bacteria - against particular bacteria eg salmonella, anthrax etc toxins - against specific toxins eg botulism parasites - against internal worms , malaria, etc viruses - flu virus, HIV etc.

How are vaccines created? A vaccine is designed to protect the body against an infection. Typically vaccines work by enhancing the immune system of the body. This is done by using: a dead version of the infection a harmless or much less severe version of the infection. microscopic parts of the infective organisms The body's defences then is able to create an immune response and immune memory that can react quickly if the full infection penetrates.

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A is the full infective agent, it could a bacteria, virus or a parasite. A can be turned into B by a range of methods. Or C parts of the infective agent. D is the the vaccine being delivered. E, the body produces antibodies and F remembers the type of attack.

What is the history of vaccines?   One of the first vaccines developed was in the late 1700s. An English country physician , Edward Jenner , observed that milkmaids who had contracted cow pox from the cows ( a quite mild condition) did not get small pox.

In a famous experiment of 1796 Jenner scratched a boy with a needle that had fluid from a cowpox infection of one of the milkmaids.   The (inoculated) boy was later exposed to small pox and was resistant . But natural vaccines have been around for a long time. Mother's milk for example has antibodies that help the baby develop it's immune system.   Reference: Campbell , N.A.(1996) Biology 4th Edition Benjamin Cummings Publishing.

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The future of vaccines? The main focus of the future of vaccines is the development of vaccines against a range of specific infections. Eurka Alert: provides some of the very latest research findings in vaccines. According to scientific american , in the future it may be possible to have edible vaccines.

There is some debate as to effectiveness of some vaccines for certain infections. A major stumbling block in developing some vaccines is that the infection changes quickly. So that a part of the infection changes making the previous vaccine ineffective. Occasionally there are concerns about side effects of vaccinations against certain diseases. The latest development in vaccines are so-called DNA vaccines. The University of Ottowa provides an insight into these new techniques.

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Disclaimer:

Although every care has been taken to make this site useful, this site does not provide vaccines advice. You should consult your doctor for vaccines advice specific to you.

About the Author

Richard, has worked explaining science for the past 10 years, including at Questacon, Mount Stromlo, CSIRO, the Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and various schools in South East London. He studied immunology and biochemistry at ANU.

 

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