How is active immunity and passive immunity alike

When pathogens germs are introduced into your body from a vaccine or a disease, your body learns to target those germs in the future by making new antibodies. Antibodies from another person can also help your body fight an infection — but this type of immunity is temporary. Instead, it protects against all germs, like bacteria and viruses, by trying to keep them from entering your body. Your innate immune system includes things such as:.

If pathogens get through the barriers in your innate immune system, specific antibodies in the rest of your immune system need to mobilize to fight them off.

Active immunity is the most common type. It develops in response to an infection or vaccination. These methods expose your immune system to a type of germ or pathogen in vaccinations, just a small amount. Passive immunity develops after you receive antibodies from someone or somewhere else. The stronger your immune system is, the more likely you are to stay healthy. Acquired immunity makes your immune system stronger. Your immune system learns how to recognize those germs, so the next time it encounters them, your immune system will know how to naturally fight them off.

People need different vaccines depending on their age, where they live, and their job. Contact Us Online. Two types of immunity exist — active and passive: Active immunity occurs when our own immune system is responsible for protecting us from a pathogen. Passive immunity occurs when we are protected from a pathogen by immunity gained from someone else.

Both of these different types of immunity can be acquired in different ways. Active immunity Individuals rely on active immunity more so than passive immunity. Passive immunity can occur in a couple of ways: Maternal antibodies Unborn and newly born babies are protected by antibodies from the maternal immune system. Placenta and circulation — When a woman is pregnant, her blood circulates through the placenta to deliver nourishment and protection to the developing fetus.

As the blood circulates, so do the antibodies and immune system cells that travel in blood. Although developing fetuses are not typically exposed to any pathogens in utero , they are exposed to viruses and bacteria during and immediately after birth.

Breast milk — Babies also get antibodies from breast milk, particularly from a protein-rich version of breast milk supplied in the first few days after birth known as colostrum. Colostrum, which is produced in the first three to five days after birth, contains higher levels of antibodies that protect the intestinal surface immunoglobulin A or IgA and lower levels of nutritional ingredients than milk produced in the weeks following birth.

Immunoglobulin treatments In certain situations, antibodies obtained from animals, from other people, or synthesized in a laboratory can be used to treat individuals at risk of infections. We generally talk about community immunity from two perspectives — that of the community, commonly referred to as herd immunity, and that of the individual, commonly known as cocooning: Herd immunity When enough people in a community have been exposed to a pathogen, it cannot spread as easily.

Cocooning This type of passive immunity is similar to herd immunity, but is more often aimed at protecting a particular individual rather than a community. Next Steps Contact Us. Vaccine Education Center. For instance, the flu vaccine prevents millions of people from becoming infected with the flu every year. Passive immunity is protection from a disease provided by antibodies created outside of the body.

Passive immunity:. Passive immunity is either maternal or artificial. Maternal passive immunity, or natural passive immunity, is immunity passed along from mother to child. Before the child is born, antibodies are passed through the placenta to protect the child from illness. After birth, an infant continues to receive passive immunity to disease from antibodies found in breast milk.

Artificial passive immunity comes from injected antibodies created within a different person or an animal. These antibody-containing preparations are termed antiserum. The rabies vaccine and snake antivenom are two examples of antiserums that yield passive immunity. Innate immunity consists of: External defenses : Known as the first line of defense, external defenses work to protect an organism from pathogen exposure.

External defenses include things like the skin, tears, and stomach acid. The memory cells generate a rapid immune response from the rest of the immune system, and the infectious agents are quickly attacked and destroyed, often before symptoms of the disease can develop. Some vaccines are given as a single dose, but others are given as a course of three doses at intervals of a few weeks. This is necessary to increase the immune response and ensure an adequate level of protection.

Once established, the protection provided by immunization usually lasts for several years, or even for life. This makes immunization a highly effective method of giving long-lasting immunity. Artificially acquired passive immunity is protection acquired by giving a person an injection or transfusion of antibodies made by someone else.

These antibodies neutralise the infectious agents in the usual way, but the protection lasts only a few weeks because the antibodies gradually break down and are not replaced. For further information, take a look at our frequently asked questions which may give you the support you need.