A conjugate vaccine is a type of subunit vaccine that combines a weak antigen with a strong antigen used as a carrier, so that the immune system produces a stronger response to the weak antigen than it otherwise would. Vaccines work by provoking an immune response to an antigen, a part of a bacterium or virus that the immune system can recognize, usually through an attenuated or dead version of the pathogen, but some pathogens carry antigens too weak on their own to elicit lasting protection. In a conjugate vaccine, such a weak antigen, most commonly a polysaccharide, is covalently attached to a strong protein antigen carrier, producing a stronger immunological response; peptide-protein and protein-protein conjugates have also been developed.
Facts
FAQs
When was the first conjugate vaccine used in humans?
In 1987, with the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccine against meningitis.
The first conjugate vaccine used in humans became available in 1987. It was the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate, which protects against meningitis. The idea itself first appeared earlier, in rabbit experiments in 1927. After the Hib vaccine was introduced, rates of Hib infection dropped by 90.7 percent between 1987 and 1991.
Connections
Treats
Source Conjugate vaccine (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikipedia contributors, Wikimedia Foundation
2. Conjugate vaccine (Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjugate_vaccine, lead section
A conjugate vaccine is a type of subunit vaccine which combines a weak antigen with a strong antigen as a carrier so that the immune system has a stronger response to the weak antigen.
Section: History (origin-year)
The idea of a conjugate vaccine first appeared in experiments involving rabbits in 1927, when the immune response to the Streptococcus pneumoniae type 3 polysaccharide antigen was increased by combining the polysaccharide antigen with a protein carrier.
Treats: Typhoid Fever, Approved conjugate vaccines
In 2018, World Health Organization recommended the use of the typhoid conjugate vaccine which may be more effective and prevents typhoid fever in many children under the age of five years.
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