Vaccines and Antibiotics

Germs…. There are many of them but not all are bad. As you already know “germs” can be either bacteria or viruses.

When the “bad” germs get in your body then diseases can occur….as we have seen…. But what can we do to prevent these diseases? Yeaah, bring me them biscuits.

Well, two things can be done to help fight disease: 1.Vaccination 2.Antibiotics Vaccinations are normally given before the disease occurs while antibiotics are taken after the disease organisms are in your body. But what’s the difference between a vaccination and antibiotics???

A vaccine is a substance that contains the weakened or killed virus or bacteria and it’s injected into your system. Once in your system your body reacts to the weakened virus or bacteria by producing antibodies to that particular “germ”. These antibodies are now present and ready to defend you when the full strength virus or bacteria invades your body. Vaccine

Uh-Oh

an·ti·gen (ān'tĭ-jən) n. A substance that when introduced into the body stimulates the production of an antibody. Antigens include toxins, bacteria, foreign blood cells, and the cells of transplanted organs.

School-age children are required by law to have the appropriate vaccination before entering school. If not, they will be susceptible to disease.

The recommended timetable for childhood vaccinations is: At two months old: Diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) (DTaP/IPV/Hib) - one injection Pneumococcal infection - pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) - one injection At three months old: Diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) (DTaP/IPV/Hib) - one injection Meningitis C (meningococcal group C) (MenC) - one injection At four months old: Diptheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) (DTaP/IPV/Hib) - one injection Meningitis C (meningococcal group C) (MenC) - one injection Pneumococcal infection - pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) - one injection At around 12 months old: Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and meningitis C (Hib/MenC) - booster dose in one injection At around 13 months old: Measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) (MMR) - one injection Pneumococcal infection - pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) - one injection Three years four months to five years old (pre-school): Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) and polio (dTaP/IPV or DTaP/IPV) - one injection Measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) (MMR) - one injection 13 to 18 years old: Diphtheria, tetanus and polio (Td/IPV) - one injection

An antibiotic is a medicine that a person with a bacterial infection takes to kill the bacteria. Antibiotics DO NOT work on viruses….only on bacteria. A doctor might give you some antibiotics even if you have a viral infection just to keep the bacteria in check. Antibiotic

So what’s in an antibiotic? An antibiotic that’s frequently used contains a fungus. A FUNGUS????? – yes, a fungus. Here’s how it was accidentally discovered…..

Back in 1928 a Scottish scientist named Alexander Fleming was working with some bacteria cultures (bacterial growths). He left one of the petri dishes open. The next day he noticed that the bacteria did not grow around a certain place in the dish. He found a mold there called Penicillium notatum. This mold (fungus) prevented the growth of bacteria. This is what makes up the antibiotic we use today called penicillin. A petri dish with bacteria growing in it.

Penicillin is one of the antibiotics that is effective against STD’s.

Antibody vs. Antibiotic Something that your body produces to help defend against a disease A pill that you take to kill bacteria only

United States mortality rate from measles, scarlet fever, typhoid, whooping cough, and diphtheria from This graph shows the decline in five infectious diseases from 1900 up until 1965, also indicating the years when various vaccines were introduced into public use.