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Definition: immunization from Philip's Encyclopedia

Conferring immunity against disease by artificial means. Passive immunity may be conferred by the injection of an antiserum containing antibodies. Active immunization involves vaccination with dead or attenuated (weakened) organisms to stimulate production of specific antibodies and so provide lasting immunity.

immunization

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Process of conferring immunity or resistance to an infectious disease by artificial methods, usually by the administration of a vaccine . Immunization is an important public health measure, highly successful in containing the spread of infectious diseases and preventing epidemics. Vaccination works by introducing small quantities of dead or inactive forms of the disease-causing agent ( pathogen ) into the body. The substances in this vaccine act as antigens and stimulate the white blood cells to produce antibodies. Antibodies are capable of binding to pathogens, resulting in their destruction. Once the body has produced antibodies to fight a disease, it is able to recognize it in the future and generate the appropriate antibody to combat it. This prevents the disease from establishing itself and stops the infection before it becomes symptomatic. The micro-organism or virus can then be inactivated and removed before it harms the body. The person contacted by the disease will probably…
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Full text Article Immunizations

From New Harvard Guide to Women's Health, The
Immunizations
In contrast to the uncertainty associated with many screening tests, immunizations have proven to be very effective in preventing life-threatening diseases. They often are a low priority for clinicians, however, and many patients unjustifiably fear adverse reactions. The result is that many people, …
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Full text Article Fighting Infections

From The Human Body Book: An Illustrated Guide to Its Structure, Function and Disorders Full text Article Lymph and Immunity
Spiral (helical) The protein coat is...
An infection occurs when microscopic organisms gain entry into the body, survive, multiply, and disrupt normal cell function. The infection may be localized, such as in a patch of skin or in a wound, or systemic, in which the organisms are carried around the body by the blood and lymph to invade…
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Full text Article Immunization

From Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology: Health and Illness in the World's Cultures
INTRODUCTION Until recently immunization as object of investigation was limited to public health researchers and historians of science and medicine (Basch, 1994; Greenough, 1980). Immunization became a more popular topic for anthropological enquiry in the 1970s, when global immunization programs…
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Full text Article Vaccination

From Culture Wars in America: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices
Vaccination, or inoculation with dead or weakened pathogens, is used to stimulate an immune response in the body to combat a virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), vaccination programs were among the top ten achievements in public health during the twentieth century. Although…
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Full text Article Immunization

From Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine
Immunization is designed to stimulate immune responses against antigens of infectious agents (e.g. bacteria or viruses) and generate specific immunological memory such that successfully immunized individuals, when exposed to the infectious agent later in life, will respond with protective immunity. …
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Full text Article Immunization

From Encyclopedia of Women's Health
Adult immunization has not received the emphasis that has been directed toward vaccinating infants, children, and adolescents. Although vaccination is routine in pediatric practice, it is not commonplace in the practice of physicians who treat adults. Vaccines that should be considered in adult…
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Full text Article IMMUNIZATION

From The Encyclopedia of Elder Care
hepatitis A vaccine, immunization, influenza vaccine, older adult, patient consent, pneumococcal vaccine, reimbursement, risk factor, tetanus-diphtheria and acellular pertussis vaccine, zoster vaccine live Aged, Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis Vaccines, Hepatitis A Vaccines, Herpes Zoster…
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Full text Article Immunizations

From The Encyclopedia of Aging
Aging is associated with an increase in the frequency and severity of a number of infections, including influenza , pneumonia , nosocomial infections , and recrudescent latent infections such as varicella zoster virus ( shingles ) (Smith, Roccaforte, & Caly, 1992 ). Overall, infection is the…
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Full text Article immunization

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Process of conferring immunity or resistance to an infectious disease by artificial methods, usually by the administration of a vaccine . Immunization is an important public health measure, highly successful in containing the spread of infectious diseases and preventing epidemics. Vaccination works…
| 319 words
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Full text Article Immunization

From Gale Encyclopedia of Public Health
Immunization is the process that makes an individual immune to infection. A vaccination is a type of immunization. Certain types of immunizations are administered in infancy and childhood and offer lifelong protection, while other types of immunization, such as the vaccine for tetanus, must be given…
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