RED DEER — The immune system is like the military where each division has a different job to protect the body.
Understanding the terms can help in setting up a disease management plan, said Claire Windeyer of the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine.
Pathogen is a term used to describe various bugs that cause disease, such as viruses, bacteria, parasites and some yeasts.
Antigen is the part of the pathogen the immune system recognizes as foreign and matches to a specific antibody.
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Antibody is a protein the body creates that can bind to a specific antigen and helps the body recognize it as harmful.
Immunoglobulin is a family of proteins, including antibodies. These are often referred to as IgG, found in colostrum.
Innate immunity is generic, nonspecific protection. It comes in the form of physical barriers like skin, hairs in the nose and mucus.
An adaptive immune system provides protection against specific targets as a result of previous exposure. This is what a vaccine does. The animal gets vaccinated and the next time the body sees the disease it mounts a bigger and stronger response.
Mucosal immunity is localized immunity at the surface of the mucosa found in the lining of lungs, gut or urogenital tract. This is where the pathogen first tries to enter the body. This area provides the first line of defence to protect the body from the outside world. It needs to be able to recognize beneficial substances like normal gut flora and food particles. It has to react quickly and tends to be short-lived.
This immunity is provided in products like intranasal vaccines.
Systemic immunity is the centralized immune response located in lymph nodes, spleen or blood system. Injectable vaccines given subcutaneously or intramuscularly activate this. It takes longer to generate a response.
Humoral response is the antibodies. It is part of the immune system that is run by antibodies contrasted with cell-mediated immunity, which is part of the system run by cells. Humoral immunity is also called antibody-mediated immunity that can produce antibodies against a specific antigen.
Cell-mediated immunity is an immune response that does not involve antibodies, but rather involves the activation of phagocytes, antigen-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, and the release of various cytokines in response to an antigen.
Active immunity is where the animal generates its own antibodies.
Passive immunity is acquiring immunity from another individual who has been immunized. This includes colostrum but can also come via blood or orally.
