Which of the following is not true about Live Vaccines

Question 42

Which of the following is not true about Live Vaccines

a)      Live vaccines are more potent than killed vaccine

b)     Two live vaccines can be given simultaneously at different sites or with an interval of at least 3 weeks

c)      Live vaccines are always given as a single dose

d)     Live vaccines must be properly stored

Answer

c. Live vaccines are always given as a single dose

Reference

Park 18^th Edition  – 95 Page

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Discussion

Ä     A vaccine is an immunity booster to a certain disease.

Ä     The term derives from Edward Jenner's use of cowpox ("vacca" means cow in Latin), which, when administered to humans, provided them protection against smallpox, the work which Louis Pasteur and others carried on.

Ä     Vaccines are based on the concept of variolation originating in China, in which a person is deliberately infected with a weak form of smallpox. Jenner realized that milkmaids who had contact with cowpox did not get smallpox.

Ä     The process of distributing and administrating vaccines is referred to as vaccination. Since vaccination was much safer, smallpox inoculation fell into disuse and was eventually banned in England in 1848.

Ä     The Differences between live and killed vaccines can be best précised as follows

                       

Characteristics	Attenuated Vaccine	Killed Vaccine
Vaccine Dose	Low (organism replicates)	High
Antibody Persistence (Immunity)	Long	Short
Booster Needed	Infrequently	Frequently
Revaccinations	Possible	None
Latency	Possible	None
Oncogenicity	?	None
Administration to Immunodeficient patients	??	Usually given

Explanation

a)      Live vaccines are more potent than killed vaccine

b)     Two live vaccines can be given simultaneously at different sites or with an interval of at least 3 weeks

c)      Live vaccines are generally given as a single dose with only few exceptions like polio

d)     Live vaccines must be properly stored

Comments

Ä     Vaccines can be

o       prophylactic (e.g. to prevent or ameliorate the effects of a future infection by any natural or "wild" pathogen), or

o       therapeutic (e.g. vaccines against cancer are also being investigated; see cancer vaccine).

Ä     Toxoids are used in case of

o       Diphtheria

o       Tetanus

Ä     Cellular faction are used in cases of

o       Meningococcal Vaccine - Polysacchride antigen of cell wall

o       Pnemococcal Vaccine - Polysacchride antigen of cell wall

o       Hepatitis B vaccine - Polypeptide Antigen

Tips

Ä     Polyvalent vaccine are vaccines which have more than one strain of the same species

o       Eg : Polio, Influenza

o       It is not appropriate to call a combination vaccine as Bivalent

Ä     The term Autogenous vaccine is used when the organism in the vaccine is obtained from the same patient