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Article: Immunity: Active, Passive, and Delayed
- Article from:
- World of Microbiology and Immunology
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Immunity: active, passive, and delayed
Active, passive, and delayed immunity are all variations on the operation of the
immune system
, whereby antibodies are produced in response to the presence of an
antigen
considered to be foreign.
Active immunity occurs due to the production of an
antibody
as a result of the presence of the target antigen either as part of an intact infecting organism, or because of the introduction of the specific antigen in the form of a
vaccine
. The immunity is provided by an individual's own immune system.
The type of immunity invoked by the active response tends to be permanent. Once the antibody has been produced, an individual will be protected ...