There is a vaccine for meningococcal meningitis - which is bacterial. On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 3:33 PM, G Money <[email protected]> wrote: > > Makes sense....dunno why I thought that method would only fly for viruses. > Makes sense for bacteria as well. > > Why can we vaccinate against some viral and bacterial diseases, and not > others? For instance, could we produce a meningitis vaccine against both the > viral and bacterial strains? Anyone know? > > On Wed, Nov 4, 2009 at 2:17 PM, Mary Jo Sminkey <[email protected]>wrote: > >> >> >So they inoculate with an inert version of the bacteria that causes the >> >infection? Didn't know you could stymie bacteria like that? >> >> Vaccines for bacterial disease (like leptospirosis in dogs for instance) do >> not cause the disease (that would certainly be undesirable), they use >> inactive or killed bacteria that stimulate an immune reaction to the >> antigens in the bacteria. The T-cells can then "jump into action" when a >> live bacteria of the same strain is encountered. >> >> We actually do tend to WAY over-vaccinate our pets. Generally the only >> reason to re-vaccinate is in cases like the flu where the infectious agent >> mutates (we don't for instance get most childhood vaccines throughout our >> lives since those give lifelong immunity). Most vaccines for pets are not >> changed year-to-year so there is little reason to vaccinate past the >> original series of shots they get. There is a big push right on doing more >> research on immunity several years out so we can extend the time between >> shots for things like rabies that are often state requirements. >> >> >> MJS >> >> >> >> > >
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