Vaccine Immunology

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex bacteria. The bacteria usually attack the lungs but can also damage other parts of the body. Approximately 30% of people around the world are infected with this pathogen, with the majority harboring a latent infection. Tuberculosis spreads through the air when a person with active pulmonary infection coughs or sneezes. M. tuberculosis are acid-fast, slowly growing bacteria that can survive in macrophages, allowing for a latent infection that can remain asymptomatic for decades, posing a challenge to diagnosis, therapy, and prevention. The diagnosis is established with tuberculin skin test, sputum culture, and lung imaging. The mainstay of management is anti-mycobacterial drugs.

Vaccination is the administration of a substance to induce the immune system to develop protection against a disease. Unlike passive immunization, which involves the administration of pre-performed antibodies, active immunization constitutes the administration of a vaccine to stimulate the body to produce its own antibodies. A vaccine is usually an antigenic, non-virulent form of a normally virulent microorganism. Vaccinations are a form of primary prevention and are the most effective form due to their safety, efficacy, low cost, and easy access. While the majority of vaccines are administered to young patients, some vaccines are targeted to diseases that occur in middle and old age, and are therefore administered to older patients.