What is Immunisation?
Immunisation is a process that protects people against harmful infections before they come into contact with them in the community. Immunisation uses the body’s natural defence mechanism – the immune response – to build resistance to specific infection. Immunisation (or vaccination) is given as an injection or, in the case of polio vaccine, taken as drops by mouth. If enough people in the community are immunised, the infection can no longer spread from person to person and the disease can die out altogether. This is how smallpox was eliminated from the world, and polio has been removed from many countries. Despite excellent hospital care, significant illness and death still occur from diseases which can be prevented by immunisation. Immunisation or Vaccination? Either term is used now to describe prevention of a disease by using a vaccine. Immunisation is the preferred term. Is everyone protected from disease by immunisation? Immunisation gives a very good level of protection against m
