Conjugate vaccines are created by joining an antigen to a protein molecule and are used to immunize infants and children against certain bacterial infections. They are more effective than ordinary vaccines for certain diseases and consist of a polysaccharide antigen combined with a carrier protein. Two important vaccines in childhood healthcare are the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV).
In medicine, a conjugate vaccine, or conjugate vaccine, is a type of vaccine created by joining an antigen to a protein molecule. Conjugate vaccines are usually used to immunize infants and children against certain bacterial infections. The immature immune system of very young children often has difficulty recognizing certain antigens, so ordinary vaccines may not be effective for some diseases. The protein part of this vaccine acts as a carrier for the antigen and serves to amplify the immunological response to it. In this way, a conjugate vaccine can be significantly more successful in immunizing infants and children against certain bacteria.
The types of bacteria that these vaccines are designed to inoculate children against tend to be bacteria that have polysaccharide capsules. In these bacteria, a mucus layer made up of polysaccharide molecules protects the antigens on the surface of the bacterial cell. This makes it more difficult for human immune cells, or white blood cells, to recognize the bacteria and mount an immunological attack. A conjugate vaccine, therefore, usually consists of a polysaccharide antigen combined with a carrier protein. Combining the antigen with the protein creates a substance that is more easily recognized by white blood cells in human blood, resulting in a stronger immune response.
Two important vaccines in childhood healthcare are the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and the meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MCV). PCV is routinely used in many countries to prevent bacterial meningitis, pneumonia and related infections in children. This vaccine does not protect immunized children against all pneumococcal bacteria. There are over 90 different types of pneumococcal bacteria, and the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine protects against only seven of these. These seven types of bacteria, however, cause a large percentage of severe pneumococcal disease, and the vaccine can help prevent most of these infections.
The meningococcal vaccine is designed to protect children from a different strain of meningitis, which is caused by a bacterium called meningococcus. It works similar to PCV and is used to immunize both young children and adolescents up to 18 years of age. This vaccine is typically given to children and young adults who have been exposed to a strain of meningococcal bacteria, such as if there was an incidence of meningitis in a school or college setting.
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