You are here
You have heard "Prevention is better than cure." It is like locking your door before a thief comes, instead of chasing him later. Our body has its own "security system" that fights germs — and vaccines train it to be ready. How does all this work? Let's find out.
In this Activity, we will read a case study from Bhadrak, Odisha, and infer what good sanitation achieves.
The Bhadrak sanitation campaign cut open defecation, and fewer children fell ill with diarrhoea.
- Toilets reduced open defecation
- Child health improved
- Sanitation prevents disease spread
- Immunity is the body's natural ability to fight diseases.
- The body has a special immune system for this.
- It is why some people fall sick less often than others.
- Vaccines train the immune system to recognise harmful germs.
- They give acquired immunity, built after exposure to a germ or vaccine.
- They are made from weak, dead, or harmless parts of a pathogen.
Edward Jenner and the smallpox vaccine
Smallpox was a deadly disease that caused blisters and killed millions. A milder disease called cowpox, seen in cows, could also infect humans. In the late 1700s, English doctor Edward Jenner discovered that people who had cowpox did not get smallpox. This led to the invention of the first vaccine and helped protect people from smallpox.
Jenner observed that milkmaids who had cowpox did not catch smallpox, likely because the two viruses are related.
Content in the pus of cowpox blisters protected people from smallpox.
He tested this by injecting cowpox sap into a boy, who later showed no illness when exposed to smallpox.
He found that people who were infected with cowpox sap were now resistant to smallpox.
Mass vaccination eventually helped eradicate smallpox worldwide.
- Long before modern vaccines, India used a method called variolation.
- Material from a smallpox sore was used to scratch the skin.
- This created a mild infection and built immunity.
- People who did this were known as teekedaars .
- They protect people of all ages from serious diseases.
- They are preventive, not curative — they stop disease, not treat it.
- Getting vaccinated protects you and the people around you.
- India is one of the world's largest vaccine producers.
- It makes vaccines on a massive scale and supplies many countries.
- Indian companies played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- They continue to support global health efforts.
- Dr. Maharaj Kishan Bhan was a well-known Indian doctor and scientist.
- As Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology, he promoted science in India.
- He played a key role in developing the Rotavirus vaccine.
- This vaccine protects children from diarrhoea.
- He believed in research that creates affordable healthcare.
- Prevention is better than cure for all diseases.
- Immunity is the body's natural ability to fight disease.
- Vaccines train the immune system and are preventive, not curative.
-
What is immunity?
View Answer
The body's natural ability to fight diseases. -
Are vaccines preventive or curative?
View Answer
Preventive — they stop disease, not treat it. -
Who discovered the first vaccine?
View Answer
Edward Jenner, for smallpox. -
What was variolation?
View Answer
An old Indian method to build immunity against smallpox. -
What is acquired immunity?
View Answer
Protection built after exposure to a pathogen or a vaccine.
- Immunity — The natural ability of the body to fight diseases.
- Immune system — The body's special system that fights against diseases.
- Vaccine — A preparation that trains the immune system to fight a particular disease.
- Acquired immunity — Protection developed after exposure to a pathogen or a vaccine.
