13.1
Week 13
Acquired Immunity
Area of Study 2
Detecting and Responding
Key knowledge
 Actively and passively acquired immunity.
 Vaccines and antibody serum.
Key skills
 Investigate and inquire scientifically
 Apply biological understandings
 Communicate biological information and understanding.
Tasks this week relate to Outcome 2.
 Describe and explain coordination and regulation of an organism’s
immune responses to antigens at the molecular level.
Relevant websites – See online biology course environment. Go to the
Links section.
Introduction
Read carefully through this Week’s work before completing the tasks.
The Objectives
By the end of this week you should be able to:



Distinguish between active and passive immunity and between
naturally acquired and artificially acquired immunity
Explain what vaccines and antibiotics are and how they work
Complete a practical exercise that investigates the Australian Standard
Vaccination & Immunisation programs available in the community
Read through the following background reading material along with pages
191 to 194 of the textbook and then answer the following questions.
13.2
Background Reading
Diagrams courtesy of Heinemann Biology Two, 4 th edition.
Vaccination helps the immune system to develop
active immunity to pathogens. The natural
resistance of a host to a particular pathogen
increases after infection. Vaccination involves
giving the host the “experience” of an infection
without the ill-effect.
The antigens in the vaccine stimulate B cells to
produce antibodies so that the body can mount
an aggressive attack on a pathogen if it gets into
the body. The flowchart in figure 13.1
summarises the main features of the different
types of immunity. Vaccination occurs at the
‘artificially acquired immunity’ step in the
flowchart. Foreign antigens are given to a person
to stimulate the immune response but not to
cause the disease.
Figure 13.1(at left)
The acquisition of active immunity can be
natural or artificial. Passive immunity can
provide a temporary defence against an
invading organism.
Figure 13.2 (below)
(a) The introduction of vaccines in the United States of
America caused a dramatic reduction in the incidence of
several common infectious diseases.
(b) The Haemophilus influenza type b bacterium (Hib)
causes serous diseases such as meningitis, pneumonia and
serious throat infections. In Australia, the introduction of
the Hib vaccine and the commencement of the national
vaccination program has led to dramatic reductions in the
short- and long-term incidence of these infectious diseases.
13.3
The following image is courtesy of The Nature of Biology by Jacaranda
Figure 13.3 An initial infection or vaccination causes a primary response which occurs about 10
days after infection and results in a low level of antibody production. A second exposure to the
same organism results in the secondary antibody response which is faster to appear and more
effective than the primary response.
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Questions
1. Many doctors are reluctant to prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics
unless the patient is severely ill. Why?
2. Explain how antibiotics work to destroy bacteria.
3. Explain the action of vaccines.
4. Use figure 13.3 given above to explain what events take place to
cause the differences in antibody levels after the first and second
exposure to the vaccine.
5. Distinguish between passive and active immunity. Give an example of
each. Use the information from figure 13.1 to help you.
6. Why does passive immunity last only about 28 days?
13.4
Read through pages 195 to 197 of your textbook and complete the tasks or
questions that follow. Use your own A4 paper or send work as MS word
documents attached to an email.
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Questions
7. Describe and explain the cause of allergic responses.
8. Explain, with reference to a particular example, what an autoimmune
disease is.
9. A characteristic in people with SCID is the lack of the enzyme
adenosine deaminase. Under normal conditions, this enzyme breaks
down the amino acid adenosine. Accumulated adenosine in
lymphocytes proves toxic to those cells. Explain why the immune
system of a person with SCID is impaired.
Read through and complete and following practical activity.
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Activity - Exercise 13A - Immunisation
Aim
To investigate the Australian Standard Vaccination immunisation
programs available in the community.
Introduction
A Vaccine is a suspension of attenuated (weakened) living or dead microorganisms that, when introduced into a person, stimulates the immune
system to produce specific antibodies. This is a procedure that provides
artificially acquired active immunity in the person.
Use the information found on table 13.1 on the following page to help you
complete this activity.
13.5
Table 13.1 The immunisation schedule recommended for Australians by the NHMRC
(National Health & Medical Research Council)
The table below is courtesy of Nature of Biology by Jacaranda
AGE
DISEASE
VACCINE
 diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

triple antigen ‘DTP’
 poliomyelitis

‘OPV’ – Sabin oral vaccine
 Hib

Hib vaccine (a, b or c)
 diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

triple antigen ‘DTP’
 poliomyelitis

‘OPV’ – Sabin oral vaccine
 Hib

Hib vaccine (a, b or c)
 diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

triple antigen ‘DTP’
 poliomyelitis

‘OPV’ – Sabin oral vaccine
 Hib (HbOC schedule only)

Hib vaccine (a or b)
 measles, mumps and rubella
 MMR
 Hib (PRP-OMP schedule only)
 Hib vaccine (c only)
 diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis

 Hib (HbOC schedule only)
 Hib vaccine (a or b)
 diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
 triple antigen ‘DTP’
 poliomyelitis
 ‘OPV’ – Sabin oral vaccine
 measles, mumps and rubella
 MMR
 Hepatitis B (1st dose)
 HBV
 Hepatitis B (2 dose)
 HBV
 Hepatitis B (3rd dose)
 HPV
 diphtheria, tetanus
 Td (ADT)
 poliomyelitis
 ‘OPV – Sabin oral vaccine
Every 10 years
 diphtheria, tetanus
 Td (ADT)
Post-partum for non-immune women
 rubella
 Rubella vaccine or MMR
Over 50 years (Aboriginals and Torres
Strait Islanders)
 Pneumococcal infections
 Pneumococcal vaccine (every
5 years)
2 months
4 months
6 months
12 months
18 months
Prior to school entry (4-5 years)
10-16 years one month later
6 months after 1st dose
Prior to leaving school (15 – 19 years)
Over 65 years
nd
 Influenza
 Pneumococcal infections
 Influenza
triple antigen ‘DTP’
 Influenza vaccine (annual)
 Pneumococcal vaccine (every
5 years)
 Influenza vaccine (annual)
DTP = diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis
OPV = oral poliomyelitis vaccine
MMR = measles, mumps and rubella
Hib = haemophilus influenza (type a, b or c)
Td = combined diphtheria-tetanus vaccine (adult form sometimes known as ADT)
OPV is given orally. All others given by deep subcutaneous or intramuscular injection.
Interim Hepatitis B Schedule for Infants – The NHMRC has endorsed the use of hepatitis B vaccine
(HBV) for all infants. HBV should e administered at birth, 1 month and 6-12 months of age. The
hepatitis B vaccine is not yet included in the standard infant schedule because it is available only as an
additional injection.
Source: Immunise Australia Program, Department of Human Services (1999)
13.6
Procedure
The table below provides a list of the vaccines used for Australian
children and adolescents, also outlined in the Immunisation Schedule
recommended for Australians by the NHMRC. Use table 13.1 to help
you complete the tasks given below.
Australian Childhood Vaccination Schedule
Age
Vaccine
Birth
HBV
2, 4 and 6 months
Triple antigen DTP
Disease Protected from
Hib vaccine (a,b or c)
12, 18 months and 4 years
OPV(Sabin vaccine)
MMR
10-16 years
HBV
15-19 years
Td (ADT Vaccine)
Discussion
1. List the disease that each vaccine protects against. Use table 13.1 to
help you work out which disease is involved.
2. Why is it particularly important that girls are fully protected against
rubella?
Conclusion
3. What are the benefits of childhood immunisation?
Key Summary Points
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


Immunity is active or passive, natural or artificial.
Natural acquired active immunity results from surviving an infection
by bacteria or viruses.
Artificially acquired active immunity arises as a result of the injection
of a specific vaccine.
A vaccine is a preparation, usually made from a weakened diseasecausing agent, used to induce active immunity.
Artificial passive immunity involves the administration of a serum
containing antibodies (antibody serum) made in another organism.
Natural passive immunity occurs during pregnancy and breast
feeding.
13.7
Challenging Activity: Mnemonic Activity
Choose one or more terms from the list given on page 199 of your
textbook and create a memory aid to help you remember the definition of
that term. You may use drawings, poetry, song, sound, whatever works
for you! Share your ‘mnemonic’ (memory aid) with the other students of
your class via the chat room. Feel free to discuss your ideas with me. Use
the glossary found on page 388 for definitions of terms.
Send at least one mnemonic you have made using one of the terms
encountered.
Log on to the www.decvonline.vic.edu.au check out the back of your
DECV book for your login details if you have forgotten.
Click on the link to the Unit 3 Biology course.
Click on the button “Discussion Room”
Place your Mnemonic as a comment to the Discussion post titled
Mnemonics Week 13.
Challenging Activity: Personal Reflection
Log on to the VCE Biology Course. Place your Personal Reflection in the Biology
Blog as outlined on 0.7 in the introduction of this book.
Exam Practice Exercise
Past Exam Questions
The purpose of this task is to familiarize yourself with the type of
questions you will encounter during the exam and the timing you should
devote to each.
Timing
You should allow 1 minute and ten seconds per mark assigned to the
question.
Question 3 (1997)
Many Australian babies are vaccinated against whooping cough. The
first injection is given when a baby is about two months old, the
second when about four months old and the third when about six
months old.
d A friend suggests that the baby born with whooping cough
antibodies does not require vaccination against the disease.
Explain whether you agree or disagree with the friend.
13.8
[2 marks]
Figure 5.15 below shows the whooping cough antibody levels in a
baby who was vaccinated against the disease.
Figure 5.15
Examine the data in Figure 5.15
e i What cells would produce large numbers of antibodies during
phase X?
[1 mark]
ii Phase Y follows the second injection. Explain why the reaction
to the second injection occurs more rapidly than the reaction to
the first injection.
f
[1 mark]
Vaccination for some diseases such as measles involves injecting
a live strain of the disease-causing virus. Explain why this live
strain does not cause the disease when it is injected into an
individual.
[1 mark]
[Total 5 marks]
13.9
Checklist
This week you should have sent this work to me.
Please tick the items you have sent, and keep this as your record:

Responses to Questions 1-6

At least one mnemonic of a biological term left online

Your personal Reflection left online

Activity 13A - Immunisation
Don’t forget to drink plenty of water!
Feedback
What if anything needs to be improved, corrected, cleared up or presented
better from the materials presented in this week? Your honesty is
appreciated. Write your comments on the back of the cover sheet.
Answers to Past Exam Questions
Question 3 (1997)
d
e
f
The friend is wrong. Antibodies present at birth came from the
mother and will disappear gradually as the baby did not produce
them. For permanent protection, vaccination is required to provoke
the baby’s own antibody-producing cells.
i B-lymphocytes (plasma cells) that can detect the antibody are
present compared to before first injection therefore antibody making
response is faster.
ii More B-lymphocytes (memory cells) that can detect the antibody
are present compared to before first infection therefore antibodymaking response is faster.
Part of the virus that causes the disease is changed so antibody cells
are produced without the patient suffering the effects of the disease.
END OF WEEK 13
13.10
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Please check that you have attached:

Response to Questions 1-9

Activity 13A - Immunisation

At least one mnemonic of a biological term and your personal reflection left online
If you have not included any of these items, please explain why not.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Use the space on the back of this sheet if you have any questions you would
like to ask, or problems with your work that you would like to share with
your teacher.
13.11
YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
Please provide the following information:
Were you able to complete the tasks in the time frame allocated? ____________________
Roughly how long did it take for you to complete this week of work? _____________
Use this space for any queries or comments you have, (or maybe errors you’ve found).
DISTANCE EDUCATION CENTRE TEACHER’S COMMENTS
DISTANCE EDUCATION CENTRE TEACHER